Answer collection and retrieval system governed by a pay-off meter

ABSTRACT

The invention is a set of processes for improving the methods of a self-organizing database governed by a payoff meter process. The inventive set of processes processes enable a user who is seeking an answer not in the database to make a commitment to buy the answer if it is supplied within a period of time. A second set of processes enables a user who is seeking to supply an answer, to claim exclusive rights to supply that answer for a period of time.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/706,762,filed Aug. 28, 1996 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,085 which will issue aspatent on Oct. 10, 2000.

Application Ser. No. 08/706,762 (CIP 5) was a continuation-in-part ofSer. No. 08/072,386 filed May 21, 1993 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,508, andof continuing application Ser. No. 08/327,704 filed Oct. 24, 1994 nowabn, (CIP 1) and Ser. No. 08/389,405 filed Feb. 16, 1995 now abn and(CIP 2) and Ser. No. 08/526,497 filed Sep. 11, 1995 now abn(CIP 3) andSer. No. 08/640,132 filed Apr. 30, 1996 now abn (CIP 4).

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a fee supported data base method and systemfor community use.

2. Description of Related Art

The primary prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,508, which describes a newtype of online data base system. The system disclosed in this patentprovides an economic solution to two critical problems of online databases: what answers (data) to collect and how to collect them. Thesolution of the invention is to estimate the reward for supplying agiven answer, and then report this reward to users who might be in aposition to supply the answer. The estimate is based on how many peoplerequest the answer. Basically, the system tells users, “Hey, enter thisanswer and I project you will make x amount of money.” Then, if theanswer is supplied and used, those who used it are charged and thesupplier is paid. This sequence can be viewed as a sort of economicfeedback loop, and the system can be viewed as an economy where theproducts are answers. The point is not to summarize the original patent,but to say that it is a pioneer type patent that takes a sharp departurefrom previous approaches to data base system design.

The main goal of this patent was to describe the basic loop of thisanswer economy. The loop can be built upon. CIP 1 added new matter inthree areas. First, it described a new feature for displaying thepay-off estimates of certain kinds of answers. Second, it described thecollection of more information about the demand for an answer,particularly price information. Third, it described a form of theinvention in which the system does not actually collect and outputanswers but collects and outputs information about the answers,including reference information telling where the answers can be found.

CIP 2 added more new matter, the most important being an interface anddata storage procedure that lets people “talk” to the system in naturallanguage.

CIP 3 added new matter including procedures for entering and displayingquestions and answers, for registering demand for answers, and forgranting property rights to users.

CIP 3 was also a rewrite of CIP 2 in order make the reading easier andbetter explain how the system could be adapted to collect and sell awide variety of answers. In the rewrite several terms were changed inthe interest of clarifying concepts. For example, in CIP 2 the term datarequest was often used for question. And the term data was often usedfor answer. CIP 3 kept more to the natural terms, question and answer.While the shift is semantic, rather than essential, there are reasonsfor avoiding the term data. Thinking about questions and answers is morenatural than thinking about data-requests and data. We know a lot aboutquestions and answers. We know that most questions are ambiguous. Weknow that some answers are permanent and some are not. We know thatcredibility counts. We know that people make mistakes when askingquestions and giving answers. We know that many questions and answersare improvable. We know that the meaning of questions is subject tointerpretation. We know that certain answers are mere suggestions whileothers are nearly certain facts. We know a lot more than this.

It's not a surprise that we know these things because questions andanswers are what we use to communicate with each other and find outabout the world. And so a system that lets us use these naturally can bea boon. That is what the invention is designed to do; it is an economicsystem that provides answers in response to questions. Thus, the changein terminology clarifies things and signifies a break from traditionaldata base systems which, of course, emphasize data.

While all the key methods and functions of the U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,508,CIP 1 and CIP 2 remain in CIP 3, large parts of the CIP 2 are copied inan appendix, for legal reasons of maintaining disclosure continuity forpriority purposes. Some of the “additional functions” described in CIP 2are superseded by functions in CIP 3. Most all remain but are improvedor elaborated on.

CIP 4, takes up where CIP 3 left off, mainly by continuing to describehow the system can handle natural language.

This application, CIP 5, takes up where CIP 4 left off, adding newmaterial about how the system can handle natural language (Chapter 26).It adds material concerning quality control (Chapter 13), translation(Chapters 15 and 27) and the pay-off meter (Chapters 9 and 25).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is an online system for collecting and selling answers.The system charges users who receive answers and pays users who supplythose answers. The key to the system is a feedback mechanism, called thePay-off Meter, that tells users what the estimated royalty value is forsupplying a given answer. The Pay-off Meter keeps track of the rate ofrequests for an answer and from this rate projects an estimate of futuresales of the answer if the answer is supplied. From this estimate ofsales the Pay-off Meter calculates the projected royalties the answerwill generate. Usually, the more requests in a period of time thegreater the projected pay-off.

One crucial feature of the system is that the projected pay-off is shownto requestors of an answer. The beauty is that, if the answer is not inthe system, a requestor may have to find the answer anyway elsewhere. Tocollect the pay-off, a requestor then has only to “call” the system backand input the answer. A sensitive feedback loop is created such that themore an answer is requested the more likely, on average, it will besupplied by a requestor or by someone a requestor tells of the pay-off.Moreover, this pay-off is an incentive to correct or update faultyanswers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the basic system.

FIG. 1 a further shows a flow chart of the basic system.

FIG. 2 a shows the flow chart of the Request Mode of a lowest pricelocator.

FIG. 2 b shows the flow chart of the Supply Mode of a lowest pricelocator.

FIG. 3 shows part of a question display menu.

FIG. 4.10 shows a another view of a question display menu.

FIG. 4.11 shows a question location.

FIG. 4.12 shows a question location and question specifiers.

FIG. 4.13 shows form linked question locations.

FIG. 4.14 shows a Q+ leading to a question location.

FIG. 4.15 shows three question locations with the same missing answer.

FIG. 4.16 shows a question location with an actual answer.

FIG. 4.17 shows multiple Q-A-locations as part of a question location.

FIG. 4.18 shows a question location with a current and a past answer.

FIG. 4.19 shows two links between Q-A-locations.

FIG. 4.20 shows a link between Q-A-locations.

FIG. 4.21 shows multiple Q-A-locations for the same actual answer.

FIG. 5 a shows a flow chart of steps for gathering of information onwhat users are willing to pay for given answers.

FIG. 5 b shows another set of steps for gathering of information on whatusers are willing to pay for given answers.

FIG. 5 c shows another set of steps for gathering of information on whatusers are willing to pay for given answers.

FIG. 5 d shows another set of steps for gathering of information on whatusers are willing to pay for given answers.

FIG. 6 shows a flow chart of steps for a multi-lingual system.

FIG. 6 a shows a flow chart of steps for registering requests foranswers in specific languages.

FIG. 7 shows a basic menu for a system that includes More SpecificQuestions.

FIG. 8 shows another basic menu for a system that includes More SpecificQuestions.

FIGS. 9 and 9 a show how a direct answer might be relabelled.

FIGS. 10-10 b show a flow chart of steps for a system with More SpecificQuestions.

FIGS. 11 and 11 a show additional steps for getting and entering MoreSpecific Questions.

FIGS. 12-12 d show diagrams of steps for creating question and answernets using More Specific Questions.

FIG. 13 shows diagrams of basic steps for growing question networks.

FIG. 14 shows a diagram of the probabilities associated with semanticlinks.

FIG. 15 shows a match path in portion of a question network.

FIG. 16 shows three questions that can be traveled to from a fourthquestion.

FIG. 17 shows linked match choices for a question.

FIG. 18 shows a path for finding an actual answer in a question network.

FIG. 19 shows demand information in a question network.

FIG. 20 shows a part of a menu for making links between questions.

FIG. 21 shows a question network with economic aspects illustrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Book Form, With Missing Chapters

This application is written in the form of three books. In order toadapt the invention to handle a wide variety of questions and answers,numerous features can be added to the basic system. These areconveniently explained in chapters.

Book I concerns the basic system and features that can be added to it.Book II concerns adapting the basic system to handle natural languagequestions and answers. The books are incomplete though. Many chaptersare left unwritten. Others that are written can be expanded. Thus, whilea table of contents is given, the reader will find several chaptersmissing.

Future continuing applications are planned that will expand both Books Iand II. It should be noted that in many instances in Book I, we saythings like, “as will be seen in Book II,” or “this topic will be takenup in Book II.” Often, those parts of Book II have yet to be written orexpanded. We make these statements in this application because we intendto fill in those parts in a future application.

Book III concerns adapting the system to handle a variety of jobs.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I The Basic System

-   Chapter 1 Definitions of Necessary Functions-   Chapter 2 Procedure and Physical Elements for a Basic AC    Part II Adapting the System to Collect and Sell a Wide Range of    Answers-   Chapter 3 Core Design Principles-   Chapter 4 Questions and Answers in the Minds of People-   Chapter 5 Questions and Answers in AC Chapter 6 Registering Demand    Information-   Chapter 7 Price Setting-   Chapter 8 Registering People's Interest in Supplying Answers and    Registering People's Rights to Supply Answers-   Chapter 9 The Pay-off Meter-   Chapter 10 Royalty Rules-   Chapter 11 User Accounts (missing)-   Chapter 12 Direct Mail-   Chapter 13 Quality Control of Answers Through Labeling-   Chapter 14 Property Rights-   Chapter 15 Multi-lingual AC-   Chapter 16 Form of the Invention    Book II Enabling the System to Accommodate Natural Language    Book III Enabling the System to Handle a Wide Range of jobs

Introduction

Goal of the Invention

The goal of the invention is straight out of science fiction. It is tomake a computer system that will answer any question posed to it. Ofcourse this goal will not be reached, but why not? What's the problem?Well, there are lots of problems. But is there a main problem?

Yes. The problem is, to find answers requires labor. One may pose aquestion fairly easily, but someone has to expend effort to find theanswer.

Now certain questions may be meaningless, such as, Do blobs havelivers?. Certain questions have answers that are not very suitable toput in a computer, such as, What does a hamburger taste like?. Andcertain questions may be impractical to answer, such as, How many grainsof sand are there exactly on the Earth?. The universe of such questionsseems far vaster than the universe of questions whose answers can befound and put into a computer. That is beside the point though. There isa great universe of questions whose answers are conveyable by computer,provided people can and want to make the effort to find those answersand then enter them.

Even the labor involved in entering answers can be a crucial obstacle.For example, there currently is no good, central, internationaldirectory of phone numbers or E-mail addresses. Why not? People knowtheir own numbers and addresses. The information is simple. Why notenter it into some central data base? The cost seems small, yet it isenough to prevent the formation of just such a central directory.

And so, we see that the main thing stopping us from having our sciencefiction computer is the labor required to find (and sometimes enter) theanswers.

How then do we get the answers in? In general, to get people to expendtheir labor, we must pay. So how does the system get answers in? Well,it pays for them.

But with an infinity of questions and answers, which answers does it payfor and how does it decide how much to pay?

Which Answers? That Depends on the Questions

The system is designed to store answers that users ask for. The waypeople ask for answers is by posing questions. So the process beginswith questions not answers. Thus the invention is not just a system thatstores answers and outputs them in response to questions, it is a systemthat stores the questions themselves. It might be called a questionbase, as well as an answer base.

When we say that the process begins with questions we mean that thefirst step to getting an answer into the system is for a user to enterthe corresponding question. For example, a user might enter What isLeona's telephone number?. If the question has not been asked before,the question is stored. Presuming Leona's number is eventually entered,it will be stored to correspond to the question.

How Much to Pay?

Still, how much should the system pay for answers that have beenrequested?

Well, the payment offer must be economically sensible, meaning that theincome that the answer generates should equal or exceed the amount paidto get the answer. In other words, the system should not pay more for ananswer than it will receive from users who find that answer.

An Agent and a Market

But the system cannot know in advance how much will be paid for ananswer and so the system does not actually buy answers. It lets userswho provide the answers take the risk that the answers will be bought.Then it pays these suppliers royalties on actual sales. Thus the systemacts as an agent and a market, but not as a middleman who buys an answerand then resells it. How much does the system pay then? It pays a shareof sales.

Now the system can also act as an owner of answers. Once the supplier ofan answer is paid off, the system may take ownership. And the system mayalso act as a trustee, putting an answer in the public domain. Thesystem may or may not charge for answers in the public domain.

Projecting Sales, the Critical Thing

So the key idea is to try to find out how much buyers are willing topay, in total, for a given answer. The system must try to project thetotal sales of an answer in order to give the supplier a realistic ideaof how much he will get for supplying the answer.

Therefore, the critical thing the invention does is estimate the salesthat an answer will have. The invention does not solve this problemperfectly but well enough to serve in a broad-number of cases. (As willbe seen later, because of the difficulty of estimating sales, theinvention may not necessarily give a sales estimate. It may only givedemand information so users can estimate the sales themselves.)

Among other things, the invention registers how many users areinterested in an answer, when they are interested, how much they arewilling to pay, and other demand information. Then it converts thisinformation into a projection of total sales. From this sales estimatethe system can then estimate the reward, the royalties, a person willget for finding and entering the answer into the system.

We call this estimate the Pay-off Estimate (POE) because it signifiesthe pay-off for supplying an answer. The POE is a projection of incomethough, not a guaranteed offer. The system pays royalties on the actualincome generated. For example, let's assume that 40 people a weekrequest the Smithsonian's general information number and that thattelephone number is not yet in the system. From this weekly tally ofrequests the system might estimate that there will be 2,000 requests ayear, and the system outputs a POE based on that estimate. Then let'ssay a user supplies the telephone number and that the actual tally ofrequests is 2,500. Further let's say that the system charges 10 centsfor the Smithsonian's number. Then the total income is $250 for theyear. The supplier would get a share of that. But if by chance theSmithsonian's number changed immediately after the supplier entered it,the supplier would probably get nothing (the payment depends on therules that apply).

We give the name Pay-off Meter to this machine implemented process thatoutputs a POE. We use the term “meter” because the process is like thatof any meter. For example, a meter that measures electricity usagecollects information about the flow of electricity through a line. Then,using mechanical or algorithmic means, it converts this information intoa number. And then it displays the number. The number provides usefulfeedback about the electricity usage. Likewise, the Pay-off Metercollects information about an answer, converts this information into anumber and, displays the number, which provides useful feedback aboutthe answer. In this case, the number tells the projected reward forproviding the answer.

A Crucial Trick

But who should the POE be shown to? The system cannot broadcast the POEto all users because most every one would be uninterested. Who then toshow it to?

Here we come to another crucial trick of the invention. The system showsthe reward to the requesters themselves of the given answer. Requestorshave the greatest interest in finding the answer, and are often in thebest position to find it or to tell others who may be able to find it.For example, if someone asks for a phone number that is not in thesystem, she would see (or hear) the POE for that phone number. Asmentioned, to collect the pay-off, any requestor has only to “call” thesystem back and enter the answer.

To see the feedback loop created, pretend one users asks, What is themelting point of silver? and is willing to pay 5 cents for the answer.The system might announce a projected pay-off of, say, 4 cents forproviding the answer. Given this small pay-off prospect, the answer maynot be supplied. But if fifty people have the same question, eachwilling to pay a nickel, then the pay-off estimate may be, say, $2.00.Given this higher pay-off prospect the answer will probably have ahigher chance of being supplied. (And might also, in general, cost lessper person.)

Of course, this reasoning does not hold for all answers. For example,everyone on the planet may want to know how to cure all cancers and stopall wars, but that does not mean that there is a good chance that theanswers will be provided.

In general, if people are willing to pay more in total than the cost offinding and entering an answer, then there is a reasonable chance thatthe answer will be found and entered. That's why the system can becalled a self organizing data base.

It can also be considered a self-correcting data base in the sense thatusers are also rewarded for correcting, updating, adding to, andotherwise improving answers that are in the system.

The system is “Governed by a Pay-off Meter” in the sense that thesystem's essential feedback mechanism is the part that produces apay-off estimate, the signal that tells which answers are worth findingand entering. The term governed is used because it is reminiscent of theWatt governor, the critical feedback mechanism of the Watt steam engine.

A New Name

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,508, and CIP's 1 & 2 the invention was called aSelf Organizing Data Base and abbreviated as SODB and sometimes SOD.While that name is still apt, from here on the invention will be namedAC instead. Why? Because it's easier to say than “SODB” and because itpays tribute to Isaac Asimov, who told the tale of AC, a computer thatanswered every question (in the story The Last Question).

The Range of the System?

What is the range of questions and answers that AC can accommodate? Noone can say because questions are general tools for probing the world,both the real world and the world of abstractions. What is the range ofthe real and abstract world? It is too broad to understand, no lessdescribe. All the inventor can say is that the system can be adapted tohandle most of the types of questions we ask each other.

These types include questions that call for answers that are true,answers that are guesses, answers that contain probability estimates,answers that are suggestions, answers that are opinions, answers thatrequire audio or visual information, answers that are a few characterslong, answers that are volumes long, and so on. To give just a handfulof examples, questions like: What is Lincoln's Birthday?, What is thebest way to make a toll-house chocolate chip cookie?, What might be thedirections to the nearest 7-11?, What is the best guess as to who willwin the next Presidential election?, Who is the best candidate?, WasJoan of Arc framed?, What is the text of Moby Dick?, How do you change atire, a video tutorial please?, How do you cure leukemia?, Why is thetop quark so heavy?, What's a picture of an arterial plaque?, How aboutan atheroma?, What is the definition of entropy?.

Variety of Possible Features

These examples can only hint at the range of questions and answers wecommonly use. To handle such a range, many problems need to be overcome.There is no single solution to these problems. And so the system caninclude numerous features for handling the wide variety of questions andanswers that we deal with.

As an analogy, we can think of the wide variety of systems that peoplehave come up with for selling products: from vegetable stands, tovending machines, to grocery stores, to department stores, tocatalogues, to movie theaters, to travel agencies, to auction houses, tobrokerages, to stock markets, and on and on. All these have certainessential elements in common: a product, two parties, and a payment.There is great variety because the variety of products is great. Allkinds of agreements and descriptions of the products can be added to theselling situation, for example, advertising, product guarantees,deposits, anti-theft penalties, product reviews, package labeling andmore, of course.

Likewise with answers as products. Because the variety of answers isgreat, a system for selling the answers can include a variety ofdifferent features. And so, the invention can be seen as a basic systemthat can have many options added to it, depending on the particular typeof answers involved and the needs of users.

Menu and Sub-Menu Approach

We will describe numerous useful features that the invention caninclude. After the basic system is described, we will often show theseoptions in a menu form, though given implementations of the system maynot include an actual menu. We present them this way for clarity's sake,to show what the users can do, what the invention does for users, andhow it does it. Which options a designer chooses to include in an actualimplementation depends on the application. The variety is simply toogreat to say that there is a preferred embodiment.

For convenience, we show the options as they could, in a limited way,appear on a screen display (the illustrations are crude and are meant toget the key ideas across). We do not show voice input and output means,though we realize that these means are very useful. Some of the optionsdisclosed are not suited to voice output.

The goal then is to describe the key steps and functions that theinvention can include. Numerous modifications and adaptations will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

Notes on Style

The description will include colloquial expressions that, hopefully,will make the description clearer. AC will often be referred toanthropomorphically, though it is understood that AC is a computersystem that must include computer based means for executing its tasks.

Thus, when we say, for instance, that AC does something, we mean that ACincludes functions for performing that something. These functions arereadily implementable by persons skilled in the art. When we say that ACasks the user to do something we mean that AC prompts the user in someway to enter information. When we say AC enables the user to dosomething, we mean that AC includes means for enabling to the user to dothat something. Again, these means are readily implementable by personsskilled in the art. When we say the user does something, we also meanthat AC includes functions for enabling the user to do that something.And so on and so forth. The essential parts of these means will bedescribed, unless those parts are obvious to persons skilled in the art.The aim, of course, is to describe what is new.

Part I The Basic System Chapter 1 The Necessary Functions

Below are basic explanations of the functions that the system requires.By function we mean a set of steps that the system's computing meansexecute. Another term we will use for a set of steps is a procedure.

The explanations below are not comprehensive. They get the main ideasacross but most concern subjects that can be delved into at length.Several of the subjects will be discussed in more detail as the needarises to show how AC can be adapted to collect and sell a wide varietyof answers.

Some Definitions and Comments

Question: A set of information corresponding to another set ofinformation called the answer.

Answer: A set of information corresponding to another set of informationcalled the question.

Rules Concerning the Correspondence Between Questions and Answers: Therereally is no such thing as the correspondence. When we saycorrespondence we may be referring to many things, most of which wedon't understand well, if at all. For our purposes right now, we will bereferring briefly to two senses of the word. One, there is acorrespondence between questions and answers inside AC. AC includesinternal rules, embodied in functions, for storing answers to correspondto questions, for finding answers in response to questions and, foroutputting answers in response to questions. Two, there is acorrespondence in the minds of users. For AC to succeed, users mustunderstand what is considered a satisfactory answer to a question andwhat answers can replace other answers. And so AC must have externalmeta-rules that define what answers satisfy questions. No set of rules,internal or external, will perfectly define what answer best satisfies aquestion, which means that disputes can arise. These can be mediated bya System Manager. (The correspondence rules for questions and answersare fundamental in designing given implementations of AC, therefore thisissue is discussed further in several places in the description (seechapters 4 and 5).

Sub-Answer: Depending on the correspondence rules of a particular AC,the system may enable users to enter answers that can be calledsub-answers in the sense that they are used in combination with otheranswers to form another answer. For example, if the question is, Who arethe major steel producers in the US.?, different users may supply thenames of different steelmakers and these sub-answers can be combinedinto a list of steelmakers.

Request: A question entered by a requester who wants to buy thecorresponding answer. (Classifying requests can be tricky, see chapter6.)

Answer-Use: When AC uses an answer, especially when AC charges for theuse.

Classifying Questions and Answers: There are potentially infinite typesof answers and answer uses. Presuming AC collects different types ofanswers and enables different types of answer-uses, it must distinguishbetween them for the purpose of registering demand information andcharges and royalties. For example the use of π may be given a differentroyalty value than the use of the date of Lincoln's birth or the use ofa passage from Shakespeare. Moreover, the use of a sequence of π in aformula may be classified differently than the answer to the question,What is the value of π to ten decimal places?. The classificationpossibilities are infinite.

Request Mode: The procedure AC executes to register demand informationfor answers, and to provide answers and/or Pay-off estimates to users. Auser selects Request Mode in order to find an answer or express interestin an answer. The user enters (or selects) a question. If the questionis new, AC stores it. If the question is already in the system, enteringit causes AC to search for the corresponding answer. If the answer isnot found, a Pay-off Estimate is outputted. If the answer is found, theanswer is outputted along with the Pay-off estimate and a Charge isregistered to the user. (Depending on the implementation of the system,the user may have to confirm that he wants an answer before AC outputsit.) Whether the answer is in AC or not, AC registers demand informationabout the answer.

Supply Mode: The procedure AC executes to allow users to enter answers.User identification data is registered along with an answer so that theuser can be credited with royalties each time the answer is used. Mostsimply, in supply mode a user enters (or selects) a question and AC thenenables the user to enter a corresponding answer. If the question itselfis new to the system, AC first stores the question.

(Note: the term mode is used as a convenient way to describe separatepaths of steps. It is not meant to have any special, technicalconnotations beyond that. The system can enable users to switch easilybetween modes, with a single command.)

Requestor: User who accesses request mode seeking an answer. Therequestor normally owes a charge if the answer is found and outputted.

Supplier: User who accesses supply mode to enter an answer. The suppliergets paid a royalty each time the answer is used as determined by theroyalty rules of AC.

User Record: The user record is where AC stores various informationabout a user, including at minimum, payment information. AC can store awide variety of information about a user's use of the system.

Charge: The amount owed by a requestor who receives an answer from AC.

Charge Rules: The rules, embodied in functions, that determine theamount an answer will cost a requester.

Royalty: The amount owed to a supplier of an answer for the use of theanswer.

Royalty Rules: The rules, embodied in functions, that determine theamount due to a supplier of an answer each time that answer is used(either outputted to a requester or processed to yield another answer).

Payments Register: The function AC executes to register payments owed byrequesters and payments due suppliers. When an answer is outputted, ACregisters who is owed a royalty and who owes a charge. The payments duedepend on the charge and royalty rules of AC. The point of the registeris not that it is a distinct storage entity necessarily but that thesystem must have steps for registering charges and royalties. Paymentrecords can be kept in user account files and in the Demand Record foran answer, as well as in a credit record for an answer. AC also has itown account where the system's books are kept.

Pay-off Meter (POM): The POM is the function that is the heart of AC.The POM has three aspects: Demand Records, the Pay-off Formula and theInput Signal.

-   -   1) Demand Records (D-record). A D-record is kept for each answer        in AC. The D-Record, as the name implies, is where AC stores        demand information about the answer. The information in the        D-Record can be quite varied. At the least, a D-record will        store the number of requests for an answer, the times of those        requests, and the actual sales, if any, of the answer. Because        an answer often will not be in AC, the D-record for an answer        actually corresponds to a question. The question then        corresponds to the given answer. So demand information about an        answer is actually stored under the question that corresponds to        the answer. (If an answer answers multiple questions, there can        be a different D-record for each question.) The D-record can        thus be looked at as the D-record for a question. The process of        collecting demand information under a question may seem        straightforward. What is not necessarily straightforward, is        what answer corresponds to the question.    -   2) The Pay-off Formula (POF). The information in the D-record        for an answer is plugged into the POF for that answer. The POF        calculates a Pay-off Estimate (POE) of the income a user will        get for entering the answer. The POF can be highly varied.    -   3) Input Signal (I-Signal). The I-Signal is a name for the        step(s) of outputting the POE and, if necessary, outputting        instructions on how to enter an answer.

The POM works most simply when AC's answers are stored under questionsand AC can find the answers by simple lookup. For example, a requestormay enter the question, What is Lincoln's date of birth?. AC will do alookup. If the question is not in AC, AC will store it and create aD-record for it. Initially, the answer will not be in AC. Each time thequestion is entered, AC will register the request in the D-record forthat question. AC will also register the time of each request so thatthe rate of requests over time can be calculated. This demandinformation will be fed into the POF to yield the POE. The I-Signal canoutput this POE to every requestor. Since answers are listed underquestions, the I-Signal need not tell what answer needs inputting norhow to input it. It is assumed that requesters implicitly know that toenter an answer they simply access Supply Mode, enter the question, andthen enter the answer. Once the answer is entered, AC continues tocollect demand information in the D-record because the answer may needcorrecting or improving. The POM thus also provides requesters with thePOE for correcting the answer.

Aspects of the POM functions are discussed a little more below.

Demand Record. As mentioned, the D-record for an answer is stored underthe question that corresponds to that answer. However, since thecorrespondence between questions and answers is often unclear andunpredictable, the answer that the D-record applies to may be unclear.Thus, as mentioned, AC will include rules for dealing with therelationship between questions and answers, in order to make the demandinformation more reliable. We will give a short example to illustratethe trickiness of questions and answers.

Assume the question entered by a requestor is, What store has the lowestprice on Sony Camcorder #1239?. Say there are 1,000 requests. Now it maybe that ten stores have the same lowest price. What then is the demandfor the name of a given store? That depends on how AC classifies theanswer. AC will have default assumptions built into it to limit the sizeand number of answers outputted. For example, AC may have a rule thatonly the first store with the lowest price can be outputted as theanswer. This store becomes the answer and all royalties go to thesupplier of this store's name. Therefore, all other stores, even thoughthey have the same lowest price are only potential answers (the firststore may change its price so that another store takes its place).

On the other hand, AC can have a rule, for example, that all stores withthe same price are equally part of the answer so the answer then has tencomponents. The demand rate for the store with the lowest price canthen, for example, be divided by the number of components to arrive at ademand rate for each component.

And so the information in the D-record applies to the answers that thesystem outputs and charges for, but that in turn depends on the internaland external correspondence rules of the system.

These issues will be discussed in various parts of the description,especially in chapters 4 and 5 and in various chapters of Book II.

(Note: CIP 1 used the term “Demand Meter” to name the parts of the POMthat keep track of demand information and calculate a “demand rate.”Here we use the term demand record to name the part where demandinformation is stored. As for the part that calculates a demand rate, wenow incorporate that into the POF.)

Pay-off Formula (POF). The POF is the function that calculates a Pay-offEstimate (POE) for a given answer. The POF projects future sales for ananswer based on the demand it has had in the past. Thus two variablesare critical: the number of times the answer has been requested and, thetimes those requests took place. Based on the rate of requests for ananswer the POF estimates how many future requests the answer will have.The POF factors in the price of the answer and the royalty rate toarrive at the POE. There are, of course, many other factors that can beused as well.

Like any equation for a projection, the Pay-off formula can beinfinitely diverse based on historical data and other factors. Forexample, the formula could include a historically based assumption ofwhen demand for an answer would end. The POF may contain estimates basedon answers that are similar to a given answer. Also, the POF must havean arbitrary value for the POE when an answer has been requested zerotimes or one time. This value could be an amount or simply a message,“You are the first to ask this question.”

There will be multiple POF's applied to different types of answers.There may even be multiple POF's for a single answer. These could givedifferent types of POE's, for example a conservative POE or anoptimistic POE.

Not only can the POF be infinitely variable but the information ityields can be of different types. Ideally the POF would yield a reliablecash POE. But that is not always practical for given answers. And so thePOF might only process information in the D-record to come up withinformation that can help users arrive at their own POE's. In givenAC's, the POF may allow users to manipulate different factors, such asthe price of an answer, in order to arrive at a POE.

I-Signal. The I-signal is the function that is the output part of thePOM, the signal that tells requesters what answer is needed, what thevalue is of supplying it and how to supply it. When a requester requestsan answer not in AC, AC outputs the POE. When a requestor requests ananswer that is in AC, AC outputs the answer and the POE for correcting,updating or improving it. (The POE may be outputted only upon requestrather than automatically). Usually, the answer needed is implicit fromthe question asked, though special input rules or restrictions may applythat the user is not aware of.

The I-Signal can include many other features for giving users POEinformation. For example, the I-Signal may include an alert functionwhereby a user can “ask” to be told if the POE for an answer rises abovea threshold amount. The I-Signal can then send an alert to the user'sE-mailbox if the threshold is exceeded.

Chapter 2 The Elements and Procedure for a Basic AC

AC Hardware Elements

AC is an online network of computers with terminals that feed into acentral computing unit that stores and processes questions, answers andother information of the kind described above. When we say “centralcomputing unit” we mean that users communicate with the same body ofdata, though that data may be physically located in different places.The terminals can be a variety of types from telephones tosupercomputers. The network includes E-mailboxes for users.

AC Procedure

FIGS. 1 and 1 a show the procedure that a basic AC follows, as explainedbelow.

Start

User enters identification data, AC stores it 1.

User enter supply or request command 2, AC accesses the appropriatemode.

Request Mode

-   Requestor enters a question, AC-   inputs 3 the question and-   checks 4 if the question is already in memory,    -   If the question is not in memory, AC    -   stores 5 the question,    -   creates 6 a demand record for the question,    -   sets 7 the request tally in the demand record to one and,    -   registers 7 the time of the request in the demand record,    -   calculates 8 the POE using the POF,    -   outputs 9 the POE.    -   If the question is in memory, AC    -   adds 10 one to the request tally,    -   registers 10 the time of the request in the demand record,    -   checks 11 if the corresponding answer is in memory,        -   If the answer is in memory, AC        -   outputs 12 the answer,        -   registers 13 a payment due by the requester,        -   registers 13 a royalty due to the supplier,        -   calculates the POE using the POF,        -   outputs the POE.        -   If the answer is not in memory, AC        -   outputs 14 a message saying the answer is not in the system,        -   calculates the POE using the POF,        -   outputs the POE.            Supply Mode-   Supplier enters a question, AC-   inputs 15 the question,-   checks 16 if the question is already in memory,    -   If the question is not in memory, AC    -   stores 17 the question,    -   creates 18 a demand record for the question,    -   inputs 19 the answer,    -   stores 20 the answer to correspond to the question,    -   stores 21 the supplier's ID data with the answer, in order to        credit royalties.    -   If the question is in memory, AC    -   checks 22 whether the corresponding answer is in memory,        -   If the answer is not in memory, AC        -   inputs 19 the answer,        -   stores 20 the answer to correspond to the question,        -   stores 21 the supplier's ID data with the answer, in order            to credit royalties.        -   If the answer is in memory, AC        -   outputs 23 a message saying the answer is already in the            system,            -   If the supplier enters a command 24 to correct the                answer, AC inputs 25 the supplier's answer,            -   replaces 26 the current answer with the supplier's                answer,            -   stores 27 the supplier's ID data with the new answer, in                order to credit royalties,            -   stores 28 the replaced answer, along with information                stored specifically for that answer, in a record for                past answers to the question.

This procedure is the basic loop of AC. AC can include many other usefulsets of steps (functions). Before describing some of them, an embodimentis described, a self-filling telephone directory (the SFTD). Then anembodiment is described that does more than just look up answers underquestions.

A Self-Filling Telephone Directory

1. The SFTD includes a list of names and corresponding telephonenumbers, a computer for storing the list and functions for inputtinginformation into the list, outputting information from the list andlooking up information in the list.

2. The SFTD also has a sign-on function that allows users to identifythemselves for billing and payment purposes. The SFTD stores this IDdata.

3. Users access the SFTD by terminal connected to the SFTD centralcomputer. The SFTD enables users to choose Request mode or Supply Mode.

Request Mode

4. Using the Request mode, a requestor accesses the SFTD list byentering a name (a question). The SFTD inputs the question and the doesa lookup to see if it has a telephone number corresponding to the name.

5. If the SFTD has a number corresponding to the name, it outputs thenumber and registers the charge due by the requestor and the royalty dueto the supplier. One is added to the POM tally of requests, the time ofthe request is registered, and a new POE is calculated and outputtedalong with the number.

6. If the SFTD does not have a number corresponding to the name, it:

-   -   a) it registers the time of the request,    -   b) it checks if the request has already been stored in the POM        register,        -   b1) if not, it sets the request tally to 1, stores the            request and defaults the POE to the message“Insufficient            Data to Estimate Pay-off,”        -   b2) if the request is already stored, the POM advances the            request tally by one and then calculates the POE using the            POF,    -   c) outputs the POE.        Supply Mode

7. Using the Supply Mode, a supplier accesses the SFTD list by enteringa name (a question). The SFTD does a lookup to see if the name is in thelist.

8. If the name is not in the list, the SFTD stores it in the list andthen allows the supplier to enter the number. The SFTD stores the numberto correspond to the name and stores the supplier's ID data along withthe number in order to credit royalties.

9. If the name is in the list, the SFTD does a lookup to see if there isa corresponding telephone number. If there is no corresponding number,the SFTD stores it in the list and then allows the supplier to enter thenumber and stores the Supplier's ID data along with the number in orderto credit royalties.

9. If there is a corresponding number already in the list, the SFTDoutputs a message, “Number is already in directory.” If the number needscorrecting, the supplier then enters the command, CORRECT. The SFTD thenallows the supplier to enter the number. The SFTD stores the number tocorrespond to the question, to the name that is, and also stores thesupplier's ID data with the number, in order to credit royalties. TheSFTD also stores the previous number and previous supplier ID data in arecord of past numbers.

A Lowest Price Locator

Let us look at another embodiment, a lowest price locator, as shown inFIGS. 2-2 a.

1. A lowest price locator (LPL) is an AC that includes a centralcomputer for storing a list of product names (questions) and merchantsand prices (answers). An LPL includes a network of terminals from whichusers can enter questions and answers. The central computer includesfunctions for creating price lists, looking up answers in the list andprocessing answers in the list and, outputting answers from the list.

2. The LPL has a sign-on function 30 and a Request and Supply mode.

Request Mode

3. Using the Request mode, a requester enters a product name. The LPLinputs 31 the question and checks 32 to see if the question is alreadystored.

-   -   If the question is not stored, LPL    -   stores 33 it,    -   creates 34 a demand record for it,    -   sets 35 the number of requests to one,    -   registers 35 the time of the request,    -   calculates 36 the POE (which in this case would normally result        in a message such as, “You are the first person to ask for a        price on this product”) and,    -   outputs 37 the POE.    -   If the question is stored, LPL    -   adds 38 one to the number of request,    -   registers 38 the time of the request and    -   checks 39 to see if the corresponding price is in memory.        -   If there is no price in memory, LPL outputs 40 “No Prices            Found”, and calculates and outputs the POE.        -   If there is a list of prices and merchants under the product            name, LPL checks 41 for the lowest price.            -   If more than one merchant has the same lowest price, LPL                finds 42 the merchant whose lowest price was entered                first and outputs 43 that merchant's name and the price.            -   If there is only one lowest price, LPL outputs 43 the                name of the single lowest priced merchant and the price.        -   LPL then registers 44 the charge owed by the requestor and            the royalty owed the supplier. It then calculates and            outputs the POE.            Supply Mode

4. Using Supply Mode, a supplier enters a product name (question) intothe LPL. The LPL inputs 50 the question and checks 51 to see if thequestion is already stored.

5. If the question is not stored, LPL

-   -   stores 52 it,    -   creates 53 a demand record for it,    -   creates 54 a price list for the product,    -   enables the supplier to enter a mer chant and price (answer)        into the list,    -   inputs 55 the answer,    -   stores 56 the answer in the list to correspond to the question,    -   stores 57 the time the answer is entered and    -   stores 58 the supplier's ID data in order to credit royalties.

6. If the question is already stored, LPL

-   -   enables the supplier to enter a merchant and price (answer) into        the list,    -   inputs the answer,    -   checks 59 to see if the merchant entered matches any merchant in        the list,        -   If the merchant does not match any merchants in the list,            LPL        -   stores 56 the merchant and price in the list,        -   stores 57 the time the price is entered,        -   and stores 58 the supplier's ID data along with the answer            in order to credit royalties.        -   If the merchant does match a merchant in the list, LPL        -   checks 60 to see if the price entered is the same as the            existing price,            -   if the price is the same, outputs 61 a message that the                price has already been entered,            -   if the price is different, puts the supplier's price in                the list in place 62 of the price stored with the                matching merchant,            -   stores 63 the time the price is entered,            -   and stores 64 the supplier's ID data along with the                answer in order to credit royalties,            -   stores 65 the displaced price, along with other                information stored specifically for that price, in a                record for past prices.                The Option of Having an Answer Delivered When it Comes                In

Rather than have a user constantly checking AC to find out if an answeris in the system, AC can enable the user to “place an order” in thesense that if an answer is not in the system, it can be delivered whenit arrives. A simple way is sending the answer to the user's E-mailbox,though there are other places the message can be posted. However, sincethe requestor is paying for an answer, it is usually better to send amessage alerting the user that the answer is in and asking him if hestill wants it. If the requestor responds “yes” then the answer is sentand a charge and royalty are registered. As will be seen in chapter 6, auser can place various types of orders, involving various commitments.

As will be seen, many different types of messages can be sent to auser's E-mail box.

Part II Adapting the System to Collect and Sell a Wide Range of Answers

In part II we describe ways that AC, as seen in part I, can be adaptedto collect and sell a wide range of answers. Core principles that guidethe design of any adaptation are laid out in chapter 3. In saying thatthe system is made to collect answers we do not forget questions, for noanswer can be collected without a corresponding question being asked,and stored, first. Answers must correspond to questions in AC. Beforediscussing this issue, we discuss, in chapter 4, how questions andanswers correspond to each other in the minds of people. We need to dothis to see the problems involved in trying to create a workablecorrespondence in AC. Then in chapter 5, we describe basic ways thatquestions and answers can correspond to each other in AC.

In chapters 6 through 18, we elaborate on the Pay-off Meter and otherfunctions described in Part I, showing how these functions can beadapted to suit a variety of questions and answers. We also introducenew functions, such as those for setting prices and for registeringpeople's interest in supplying answers.

However, we wait until Book II to describe how the system can be adaptedto handle the kinds of questions we normally ask each other, questionsin everyday language that is. The functions described in book I arenecessary for building a system that can accommodate a wide range ofanswers, but these functions are not sufficient for building a systemthat allows users to ask natural language questions.

Lands of AC

AC can be a big system with various ways of handling questions andanswers. The system can have numerous sub-AC's where different rules andfunctions apply. We call these sub-AC's lands. For example, one landmight be a lowest price locator where questions and answers are enteredin a strictly defined form. Another land might be an encyclopedia whereall answers are under 100 words long and cost five cents. Another landmight be a photo album where all the answers are photos. The point is,AC does not necessarily have one set of rules that applies to allquestions and answers in the system.

Most Rules are Inherently Variable

Throughout the description we will be discussing numerous kinds of rulesthat AC requires. Most of these are highly variable. For example, ACrequires royalty rules, and these can, of course, vary widely. AC'srules determine what kind of functions and formulas AC has, so these inturn can vary. As another example, formulas for calculating royaltiesand functions for registering royalties can vary depending on theroyalty rules.

Evolution of Rules and Formulas

While AC requires various kinds of rules and formulas, their specificforms cannot be given satisfactorily. Not only are the specific formsdesign decisions, but no designer can tell what is best in advance. Heor she can only guess.

However, a system designer can set concrete goals for the rules andformulas and can conduct tests. The pay-off formula provides the bestexample because it has the clearest goal: to provide accurateprojections of royalty income. Thus a designer can test to see howaccurate a given formula is over a series of answers. There will benumerous pay-off formulas designed for different circumstances, andthere will be numerous kinds of statistics that can be developed aboutuser behavior. All these can be tested against the goal of accurateprojections. Thus the formulas can evolve.

AC's matching rules are another example. AC matches questions that usersenter with questions already in AC. Users confirm whether the matchesare satisfactory or not. Thus, designers can strive to increase the rateof satisfactory matches.

Rules for property rights provide another key example. The goals hereare vague though, and so designers must choose what to test for. Despitethe vagueness, devising measures and tests is possible and thus, rulesfor property rights can evolve as well. In fact this testing is the onlyalternative concerning most rules and formulas, because situations arediverse and experience is scant.

It is also possible to do auto-variation, in the spirit of geneticalgorithms, where AC itself makes variations in the formulas. Because ACcan become quite large, there can be enough answers and enough time toconduct such tests.

Thus when we say that AC's rules and formulas are variable we mean it intwo senses: one, designers can come up with different rules that suitdifferent situations; and two, designers usually cannot come up with thebest rules and formulas but must test their guesses and let the rulesand formulas evolve.

Testing Device, a Laboratory

Not well appreciated is the great need for a device that enables peopleto test the effects of rules on the economy.

AC is both a device and a real economy. As such, it provides means fortesting rules under real conditions in a variety of circumstances. Rulestested in AC can then be tried in the larger economy. And so AC can alsobe thought of as a testing apparatus, an economic laboratory.

For example, it allows us to test property rights. Property rights,including royalty rules, are feasible to test because an experimentercan see various effects of changing property rights. These effects canrange from whether answers are provided or not, to the speed with whichanswers are provided, to the price of answers, to the number of peoplewho have tried to supply answers, and more.

Further Notes on Style

For convenience, we will often use Rex to represent a requestor and Sueto represent a supplier.

Also for convenience, example questions are usually kept short, thoughin practice questions can be quite long.

When we say that AC includes a given option, we also mean that ACincludes the necessary functions for carrying out the purpose of theoption.

When we say “enter a command,” we mean that the user activates anoption. And when we say AC “includes a command,” we usually mean that itincludes the corresponding option.

“Question” will often be abbreviated as “Q” when it is preceded bycertain names, for example, a “Current-Q.”

Chapter 3 Core Design Principles

Before describing various ways questions and answers can correspond toeach other in AC and various types of functions that can be added to thebasic system, we will first step back and describe eight core principlesthat guide the design of any AC.

Principle 1 AC is a Marketplace for Answers and Potential Answers

AC is a medium that enables people to ask for and offer to pay foranswers. It is a medium that enables people to supply those answers. Itis a medium that enables people to find and pay for answers that havebeen supplied. It is a medium that pays suppliers of answers apercentage of the sales of those answers. In other words, it is amarketplace for answers.

It is more than a conventional marketplace though because it enablespeople to offer to pay for answers that do not yet exist in themarketplace. And it enables people to evaluate whether providing theseanswers will pay enough to be profitable. Thus it is also a marketplacefor potential answers.

Principle 2 The Organizing Goal is to Make Good Sales Forecasts

Every AC will have the same organizing goal in the sense that thesuccess of the system depends on the goal being achieved and in thesense that many of the system's functions are designed to achieve thegoal. The goal is to give the user a good guess as to the income shewill receive for supplying a given answer. Another way of putting it isthat the goal is to arrive at a good guess of the total sales that ananswer will have once the answer is in the system. From these sales thesupplier's share (the POE) is easily calculated according to the royaltyrules. The royalty rules may be complicated, but generally thecalculation is simple and the real task is to come up with a good salesestimate from which the royalty estimate is taken. So the organizinggoal is to arrive at good sales forecasts for answers.

Principle 3 The Foundation Task is to Count How Many People Want anAnswer

The goal of good sales forecasts leads to what we might call thefoundation task of the system. The foundation task is to count all thepeople who want to buy a given answer. (These people include those whoactually do buy.) It is from this count that AC builds an estimate ofthe future sales of that answer.

There are, of course, many other variables that are critical to making asales estimate. For example, the prices at which people are willing tobuy are key. Nevertheless, functions for gathering information on othersales variables are not central to the design of AC. By contrast, manyof the key functions and rules of AC are designed for counting how manypeople want given answers.

Counting how many people want an answer is tricky for many reasons andcan lead to a variety of different features being included in thesystem. Above all, counting is tricky because identifying which answersare wanted is tricky. This trickiness will be discussed later.

For now let's point out one problem that is not about identifyinganswers. The problem is that people must offer to buy an answer at someparticular time. Different people will make offers at different times.So when we say that AC must count how many people want an answer that ismisleading, for the count can only be based on past offers; there is nosuch thing as counting exactly how many people want an answer in thepresent or future. That is just one limitation of any effort to forecastsales.

Principle 4 Questions Identify and Represent Answers

In order to count how many people want an answer, the answer must beidentified. Actually, answers have to be identified for more reasonsthan that. Having emphasized the pay-off estimate aspect of AC, let usnot forget that AC is a system where people request answers, findanswers and supply answers. To do all these things the answers must beidentified. The way answers are identified is with questions.

We don't normally think of questions that way. If we think about thematter at all, we think of questions as “asking” for answers. But askingfor an answer means describing, identifying the answer. With questionswe can ask for (identify) a great range of answers: facts, guesses,predictions, solutions, inventions, explanations, suggestions,treatises, opinions, critiques, and on and on.

Because they are how we identify answers, questions are central to howAC works:

-   -   People identify the answer they want by entering a question.    -   People identify the answer they have supplied by entering a        question.    -   AC identifies where an answer is with a question. (This means        that a person can find an answer by entering a corresponding        question.)    -   And AC identifies which answers people want according to what        questions people enter. (This means that AC collects information        about an answer under the corresponding question.)

Of course the way humans use questions is different from the way AC usesquestions, and that can be confusing. For humans, a question is astatement in human language that describes an answer. For AC, a questionis a question string, a set of search parameters, and instructions forfinding an answer.

Once a question is entered into AC and stored, AC creates a questionrecord (Q-record). AC registers various information in this record thatit gathers from users who enter the question. This information is aboutthe answer that the question corresponds to. The question record cancontain many sub-records, the most important of these being the demandrecord.

Thus the question identifies not only an answer but also informationthat describes the answer. In other words, AC uses a question string tocreate a location in memory for information about the answer.

We might say that a question represents an answer because this term getsthe plan across. If no answer has been supplied, the question representswhat we call a potential answer or a missing answer.

(That does not mean that there is only one possible answer. We can usethe plurals, potential answers and missing answers. Singular or pluralin this case is really a matter of taste, for there is no good existingterm for the idea of a potential answer.)

If an answer has been supplied, we call the answer an actual answer. Ifthere is an actual answer, the question represents that answer and anypotential improvements or changes in the answer. So even if there is anactual answer, the question still represents potential answers.

(Now, if more than one answer in AC is identified directly by aquestion, the answers need to be distinguished. They can bedistinguished by information that is distinct to each of them. Thus,each actual answer will have a separate record that includes informationunique to that answer. We call such a record a Q-A record because it isidentified by the question and by information about an actual answer.)

If more than one question corresponds to an answer, AC collectsinformation in each Q-record and can combine that information.

If more than one answer corresponds to a question, the information inthe Q-record can apply to the multiple answers. The principle remains;questions are used to represent answers.

In AC, as perhaps in reality, there is no such thing as an answerwithout a question.

Principle 5 Question String Information Can be Conveniently Split IntoTwo Kinds

As discussed above, a question string (Q-string) represents anddescribes an answer. It is what a requestor enters to describe theanswer he wants, and what a supplier enters to describe the answer sheprovides. An example is: What's the treatment for first degree burns?

While questions are, on average, shorter than answers, they can varyconsiderably in length. A Q-string can be anywhere from as short as aname to as long as a book. Naturally, few questions will be that longbut common questions often do involve paragraphs of description whenpeople describe situations in detail. For example, a requestor who hasjust been burned might ask,

What's the treatment for a first degree burn when you've been burnedwith water coming out of an espresso machine and the burn is on the backof your hand and you don't have any bandages around and you're not surehow hot the water was and you see a blister starting to form and theblister is about a quarter the size of a dime and it hurts like hell andit's been five minutes since you were burned . . . .

Two Kinds of Question String Information

AC can divide question string information into two kinds called the mainquestion string (main string) and the question specifiers (Q-specs).Q-specs are not mandatory and in certain lands of AC there may be nosuch thing as Q-specs, only main strings. Usually, when we say questionstring or question we will mean the combination of these two kinds ofinformation. However, if there are no Q-specs, then a question simplyrefers to the main string.

Question Specifiers (Q-Specs)

AC can enable both requesters and suppliers to enter questionspecifiers. Specifiers can be thought of as standard adjectives thatmodify the main string and thereby further describe an answer. They arepart of the overall question string but are distinguished from the mainstring. They are distinct entities in memory in the sense that they arepart of the question string but have their own place in memory, as doesthe main string. There are a few reasons for separating Q-specs.

First, it is helpful to have a set of standard specifiers that can beused separately from the main string. For example, a user may enter themain string, A Biography of Hans Bethe?. The user may then specify,under 500 words. Thus the user can fiddle with the main question byadding and subtracting specifiers.

Second, specifiers contain standard information that can apply to wideranges of main questions. For example, the length of an answer is astandard specifier. By contrast, the information in the main strings canvary tremendously.

Third, specifiers really are like adjectives. Without the subject, themain string, they are practically meaningless. A person can ask to see asleek plane but a person cannot ask to see a sleek. Likewise, a personcan ask for A Biography of Hans Bethe?, but cannot ask for under 500words.

AC can enable users to create their own standard specifiers. Below is apartial list of the key Q-specs AC can enable users to enter:

-   Type of Question. AC can include certain basic types of questions.    These direct AC to do different things. They are described in    chapter 5.-   Land of the Question. As noted, AC can have numerous sub-parts which    we call lands. Each land has different characteristics in the sense    that the questions and answers conform to certain rules.-   Subject. An answer might be about a certain subject area and this    can be specified in advance. For example, the employees of a company    might ask various questions having to do with the company. All these    questions can be specified by the name of the company.-   Place. An answer might be about a certain “local” situation, and so    a location specifier can be useful. For example, a question might be    about a particular traffic jam, which can be specified by a given    location. However, the idea of location is broader than just    geography; it is the general idea of place.-   Time. A user may specify various time aspects of an answer. For    example, the time that a question is asked might matter. For    instance, the time that a question about a traffic jam is entered    can be key. Likewise, the time of the answer is found can be key.    Obviously, time, like place, is a fundamental specifier.-   Format of the Answer. A user may specify the format of an answer:    text, audio, video or multi-media.-   Length of the Answer. A user may specify the length of an answer by    word count or by time.-   Price of the Answer. A user may specify the price category of an    answer.-   Language of the Answer. A user may specify the original language of    an answer.-   The Supplier of the Answer. A user may specify the supplier of an    answer.-   The Source(s) of the Answer. A user may specify the source(s) of an    answer.-   Quality. A user may specify certain quality aspects of an answer.    This is discussed in chapter 13 on quality control.

It is important to note that the main string might specify all thesethings. Standard specifiers are not mandatory; they are just a usefulfeature.

Principle 6 AC Can Collect, Process and Display Lots of InformationAbout Answers

We don't normally think of an answer as a product, like a TV, yet in ACthat is what an answer is from the point of view of requestors. We don'tnormally think of an answer as an investment, an income producingproperty, like an office building, yet in AC that is what an answer is,from the point of view of suppliers.

Thus AC collects, processes and displays all kinds of product andinvestment information about an answer. This includes information aboutdemand, projected income, price, quality, property rights, suppliercompetition, alternative answers, and more. In each of these broadareas, AC can collect lots of specific pieces of information. Forexample, in the area of the quality of an answer, AC can register theprimary source of the answer, probability estimates of the answer beingtrue, reviews of the answer, and more. What and how much information isregistered, processed and displayed depends on the answer and can vary.

We will call all the information that is registered question information(Q-info). And we will call the information that AC displays about theanswer, answer statistics (A-stats). AC uses the Q-info to come up withA-stats. In some cases the information will be the same in the sensethat AC will not process a given piece of Q-info but just display it asan A-stats. The Q-info is normally stored in the Q-record.

Now it may seem strange that the information registered is calledquestion information when it is supposed to be about an answer. However,this term is reasonable for several reasons.

One, the information is registered under a question. Some of it isregistered automatically when a user enters a question string. The restis registered “at” the question. By that we mean that after the userenters a Q-string, AC presents the user with a display, which we callthe question display (Q-display). The Q-display shows the question andincludes a menu of options that the user can select from in order toenter and see various kinds of information about the answer that thequestion represents. This information is entered into and gotten fromthe Q-record. An illustration of a Q-display is given in FIG. 3 (thoughit should be noted that this figure is incomplete, and is intended onlyto show some of the key kinds of options that the Q-display includes).

Two, since the question string represents the answer, the informationstored in the question record can be considered to be about the questionstring and about the actual answer or missing answer.

Three, it is often not clear what answer the question string refers to,or represents. And so, the Q-info might apply to many answers. Thus itreally is Q-info that then corresponds in some way to one or morepotential answers. As a consequence, Q-records (which contain theQ-info) can exist without ever corresponding directly to an actualanswer.

Answer Statistics (A-Stats)

We call the information that AC shows about an answer by the nameA-stats to get across the idea of AC processing and keeping track of avariety of useful information about an answer, the answer's “vitalstatistics.” Not all the stats are numerical; many are qualitative. Forexample, AC can store and show an abstract of an answer and a sample ofan answer. As another example, AC can store and show who has rights tosupply an answer and for how long.

Much of the rest of this patent specification will be spent describingfunctions and options that AC can include for gathering, processing anddisplaying various kinds of Q-info and A-stats. Below we give a partiallist of some of the key kinds of A-stats that AC can create from theQ-info. Many of these kinds are discussed in depth in the chapters aheadbecause they are subjects in and of themselves.

-   -   The POE (and related demand information).    -   Whether the answer is in the system or not.    -   Who the supplier is.    -   The price of the answer.    -   The original language of the answer.    -   The date and time the answer was entered.    -   The length of the answer.    -   The format of the answer (text, audio, graphics, video,        multi-media).    -   Peoples' interest in supplying the answer.    -   Property rights concerning the answer.    -   The popularity of the answer (more demand information).    -   Quality information about the answer.    -   How users found the answer.    -   History of past answers.    -   Key words of the answer.        The Difference Between Q-Specs and A-Stats

As the list above shows, Q-specs and A-stats are categories that includesome of the same kinds of information. The length, price, and format ofan answer, to name a few, can all be Q-spec information and A-statsinformation. But that does not mean that Q-strings and A-stats are thesame things. While they both describe an answer, the difference is howthe information is used by AC.

AC uses the Q-string to create a memory location, a question record,where answer statistics belong. The Q-string represents the answer andthat is why the A-stats are stored in the Q-record. A main string islike a baseball player's name, while a Q-spec is like the player's team,and a set of A-stats are like the player's stats. This is not a perfectexample because a player's team might change, but it gets the ideaacross. A-stats can be used to differentiate question records andanswers in memory. But they are not used to create a question that thenhas a question record.

At a question display, AC may show Q-specs and A-stats that have thesame kind of information. For example, say a question string is: What'streatment for a first degree burn?. And say a Q-spec is under 500 words.Now, say an answer is supplied, and say it is 408 words. AC can registerthe length and then show the A-stats of 408 words. If the answer islater changed, this A-stats might change.

Most A-stats are created by the collective actions of users enteringinformation and are compiled by AC. Most A-stats can change whereasQ-string information basically cannot. Whether an answer is in thesystem or not, the A-stats tell the current story of the answer. Thisstory changes as new information about the answer is registered. Forexample, the POE is an A-stats that can change with each request.

Sometimes the dividing line between Q-string information and A-statsinformation is not clear. That's because both kinds of informationdescribe an answer and can be used to differentiate an answer in memory.Whether a user chooses to enter the information as Q-spec or A-stats orboth depends on the user and the choices AC gives with the particularquestion.

The key litmus test is this:

-   Users enter Q-string information in the expectation that other users    can supply an answer that will match the Q-string conditions, that    will fit the question.-   Users enter A-stats information to describe an answer but they do    not expect other users to supply an answer that will fit the A-stats    conditions.

Operationally this means that AC enables users to enter Q-stringinformation through different input forms than A-stats information.Users are expected to know the difference. AC then uses the Q-stringinformation to create questions and Q-records. AC puts the A-statsinformation in the Q-records.

Principle 7 A Question is a Location Where AC and Users Do Business

A question identifies an answer but is it more than that in AC. It is alocation in AC's memory that users (with AC's help, of course) create.The first time a given question string is entered into AC, it is stored.

Once that happens, all kinds of other information can be attached to thestring, as described above. And so, AC creates a location made up of aQ-string and Q-record.

And once the question is stored, other users can “go to” that question,go to the location created by the question string and Q-record that is.

In other words, a question string is a location. And it is a place whereusers and AC interact, where users can see and find and enterinformation that corresponds to the string. Thus the actions of usersand of AC revolve around questions. That's because questions representanswers, which is what people are looking to buy and looking to supply.

We are going to elaborate on this idea of a location. As we extend theidea we are no longer thinking just of a Q-string but of the Q-stringand Q-record and Q-display. We are thinking of all the A-stats that ACmight display along with the main string and of all the options that ACcan present to users for entering and getting information, and forbuying and supplying answers. In other words, we are thinking of aquestion as a location in AC where users and AC can do business.

FIG. 3 gives an illustration of the Q-display with a menu of optionsfor: entering questions 70, selecting questions 74, entering A-stats 72,seeing A-stats 73, buying answers 75, and supplying answers 76. Thefigure is abbreviated for it does not show all the options the Q-displaycan have. And it cannot show the functions that AC executesautomatically and invisibly to register information and showinformation.

We might think of the Q-display as a generic storefront with nothing inthe window until a Q-string is put there. Once the Q-string is there,the Q-display becomes a display for a particular store—for aQ-location—that is made for selling the answer that corresponds to theQ-string. The Q-string is like a sign advertising the answer.

But the metaphor of a store falls very short because a Q-display hasmany more functions than any ordinary store. A Q-display with a Q-stringis more a multi-purpose sign than a store. And yet it is more than that.

The CIP 3 used the made up term signomat to name the multiple functionsthat AC builds around a question. Why that? Well, first it is supposedto get across the idea that AC turns each question into a multi-purposesign for an answer. Second it is supposed to get across the idea of avending machine (it comes from the term Automat, which was the name ofvending machine system for food). We can think of AC as creating avirtual vending machine around each question that is stored in thesystem. Unfortunately, the term signomat comes up short in gettingacross the third main idea, which is the idea of gathering and storinginformation. AC has many functions for gathering information that few,if any, machines in the real world seem to have.

We do not want to think of a user going to a Q-display, for theQ-display is a generic thing with no content. We want to think of a usergoing to a question located in AC and shown on a display, a display withoptions that enables a user to act regarding the question and the answerthat the question represents. Information registered about the user'sactions is stored in the Q-record, is stored at the Q-location, in otherwords. And information about the question and answer is pulled from theQ-record, from the Q-location, in other words.

And so we will think of a question, for now, in terms of a signomat. Wecan think of AC as a vast bazaar of signomats. And we can think of AC ascreating signomats for new questions strings, and of AC as taking usersfrom one signomat to another, and of users traveling to and arriving atsignomats. We elaborate below.

1. A Signomat as an Interactive, Commercial Sign

The signomat's question string and A-stats describe an answer. We canthink of all this displayed information as a multi-purpose sign. ACpresents certain A-stats automatically, and the user can ask to seemore. Thus the signomat includes option buttons for getting A-stats. TheA-stats can be quite detailed, depending on the type of stat. Forexample, AC may gather extensive POE information for a given answer.Anyway, the point is that the signomat is an interactive sign.

It is also a commercial sign, in several senses:

-   a. It's a buyer ad. When a requestor enters a question, AC stores it    and the question advertises that the requester wants the    corresponding answer. When additional requesters enter the same    question this fact is registered and reflected in the POE, and that    advertises that multiple people want the answer.-   b. It's a seller ad. When a person supplies an answer she supplies    it to the corresponding question. Thus the signomat describes the    answer that the supplier has entered.-   c. It's an address sign for locating an answer. This simply means    that to find an answer people enter the corresponding question. If    the answer is there it will be found. This scheme seems simplistic    but it is a fundamental, people friendly way of finding answers.    (Even in the cases where the system processes answers to come up    with other answers, a question is still an address as far as users    are concerned.)-   d. It's a tote board. As with a tote board at the track, AC collects    information and processes it and then displays it for users to see.    In the case of a tote board, of course, the subject is usually a    horse race. In the case of AC, the subject is an answer. While a    signomat can display a lot more information than a tote board can,    the general idea is the same.    2. A Signomat as an Information Gathering Apparatus

The term “information gathering apparatus” does not tell us much becausethere are so many of these kinds of machines. However, there is nosimple machine to compare a signomat to in regards to how AC gathersinformation. That is because AC collects many different types ofinformation about a product, about user interest in the product, andabout the sales of a product. In the sense of AC collecting demandinformation, we might look at a signomat as a polling station whereusers cast their votes for a particular answer. However, AC collects alot more than polling data. As a minor example, when a user supplies ananswer, AC automatically registers how long the answer is.

As noted, AC gathers some information automatically. It also presentsusers with option buttons for entering information, which are shown onscreen. A user selects a button and then AC enables him to enter thecorresponding information. AC also gathers information by promptingusers.

3. A Signomat as a Vending Machine

A signomat is a vending machine in the sense that when people arrivethere AC enables them to buy the answer that is stored there. Like avending machine, it must be stocked with an answer. Thus a supplier mustprovide a product to the signomat.

The answer may be outputted automatically once a user arrives. Or AC caninclude a variety of possibilities for having the user make a priceoffer. The signomat may even negotiate with the user.

If a user buys, AC registers charges, just as a vending machine would.It also registers royalties (which few vending machines do).

Now people may or may not buy when they arrive at a signomat; they maysee information there that gets them to decide one way or another. Butthe point is that people can offer to buy—press a button and agree topay some money—at the signomat and can receive the product if it isthere.

(Note: Vending machines might be linked such that a user at one vendingmachine can actually get an answer from another machine, but that isbeside the point here.)

A Question Centered System

By now we have seen that questions play various roles: as strings ofsymbols, as descriptions in language, and as places of business.Questions have multiple roles because AC is a question centered system.The effort to find answers is organized economically around questions.That is AC's plan and it is fundamental.

Principle 8 Everything Depends on People Understanding Each Other WellEnough

The most important process that AC depends on is actually outside AC. Itis the process by which people understand what questions mean. It is theprocess whereby we can ask a person a question and she has a decentchance of understanding the conditions that an answer will have to meetto satisfy us.

This correspondence process is not well understood but it is the basisof the system. So AC must be adapted to the way people understandquestions.

This issue is taken up next.

Chapter 4 Problems Concerning the Correspondence Between Questions andAnswers in the Minds of People

Questions and answers correspond to each other in some strange way inpeople's minds. The point of this chapter is to lay out some of theproblems that are faced in adapting AC to the way people think about anduse questions and answers.

We will not be able to illuminate these problems very well, of course,for they are large mysteries. And we do not give our solutions for themhere, but save those for rest of this application, particularly chapter5 and Book II.

Here we are concerned with meaning: What does a question refer to,correspond to? And how do people use questions to refer to, correspondto, answers?

When we say we are concerned with meaning, we are not trying to getbogged down in a philosophical swamp. We do have a fairly concrete taskin mind, making AC operate successfully, fulfilling the principles ofthe previous chapter. In accomplishing the task, it is obviously helpfulto know some of the key problems.

Problem Number One

As discussed in the previous chapter, AC is a communication system thatis built around people's ability to understand each other. The wholesystem depends on people having a good chance of knowing what answerwill satisfy someone who asks a question.

But there is a big problem with this plan because people often do notknow what answer will satisfy a person asking a question. Thecorrespondence between questions and answers is not one-to-one. Theproblem is that many answers can correspond to a question, and there areno clear rules as to what a satisfactory answer even is. We might callthis the multiple answer reality or the endless answers problem.

Apart from the necessity of having people answer a questionsatisfactorily, recall that the foundation task of AC is to count howmany people want a given answer. Since questions represent answers, ACbases its request count for an answer on the number of times peopleenter the corresponding question string. Of course, if we are not surewhat answer corresponds to a string then we are going to have a problemcounting based on question strings.

Problem Number Two

There is a second big problem in making a count based on questionsstrings. The problem is that there are multiple ways to ask for ananswer. In other words, multiple questions can correspond to the sameanswer.

Now if people ask for the same answer with different question stringsthen there is obviously a problem in counting up how many people wantthe answer. Thus AC requires ways to match up the different questionswhere the same answer is involved. We might call this the endlessquestions problem or the matching up questions problem.

Let us look at why we have this problem then we will return to problemnumber one. Why are there multiple ways to ask for the same answer? Whoknows. We very superficially point to four reasons below:

The Flexibility of Language

A question is a kind of description. It describes the answer a person islooking for. Language allows multiple ways to describe things including,of course, answers. Different words can refer to the same idea and wordorder can be changed without changing meaning. For example: What was theprecipitation last night?, What was the rainfall last night? and, Therainfall last night was what? can all be considered the same question.There are practically infinite ways to pose the same question in thesense that the different question strings ask for the same answer.

The Incompleteness of Language

Usually there is no to way to describe the answer one wants withcomplete precision, in the sense of a unique, complete description. Thatjust seems to be the nature of language and reality. It seems that wecannot describe any piece of reality with complete precision. Forexample, if we ask a question that sounds fairly precise such as, Howmuch does John weigh in pounds?, we see that we leave out many things.To what decimal do we want to go? At what time. At what place? With whatscale? And so on. We find we can keep adding details. The process neverends and so there is no unique, complete way to describe or ask forsomething. There are only multiple, incomplete ways.

Ignorance

We often don't know exactly the answer we are looking for so we posequestions in various ways trying to describe what we are looking for.For example, say you have just spilled very hot coffee on your hand andyou feel a burn. You want to know the answer to the question, Whatshould I do to treat my hand?, but you don't quite know how to describethe situation exactly because you don't know much about burns. You mightask, How do you deal with a first degree burn? or How can you tell howbadly burned you are? or What should you do when you spill really hotcoffee on your hand?. You'd probably ask all these kinds of questionsand more.

You have no exact thing in mind, and yet you have the “same” answer inmind, a description of what to do about your burned hand. There is nosuch thing in your mind as the answer. The same answer really meanssimilar answers, and this notion is not well understood.

Now the various questions we ask looking for an answer might notdescribe the same answer at all. They may be very different. We have nogood theory of the relationships between questions. But we do know thatin seeking an answer we may ask a variety of “related” questions, someof which, at least in our minds, describe (refer to) the “same” answer.In other words, if we are ignorant about what we want, we will not beable to describe it well, and will use various descriptions.

Multiple Paths to an Answer

We live in a clue reality, where different pieces of information mightlead us to the same answer. This also means that very differentquestions can all lead to the same answer. For example, let us say weare looking for an actor's name. We can ask, What actor starred in TheGraduate and Marathon Man?, What actor has a big nose and looks sort oflike Al Pacino and is not Robert DeNiro but is considered a really goodactor?, What actor has created lots of cool roles like Lenny and RatsoRizzo?, and so on. We are looking for the same answer, the same objectif you will and yet we can ask different questions. These questions arenot synonyms. If we compare them they do not appear to describe the samething. And yet they do correspond to the same thing because theydescribe different aspects of that thing (Dustin Hoffman in this case).This may seem to be just a philosophical point but it is important forthe organization of AC because in our minds, and therefore in AC, verydifferent questions can correspond to the same answer.

Why a Problem and What to Do?

Given that practically an infinite number of questions can correspond inour minds to the “same” answer, we have a problem because AC bases itsrequest count for an answer on the number of times people enter thecorresponding question string(s).

What do we do when different questions are entered that correspond tothe same answer. And how can the system “know” that the questionscorrespond to the same answer? As noted, we might call this the matchingup questions problem.

To deal with it, AC needs ways to combine the request counts (and otherquestion information) of those different question strings. In the nextchapter we discuss some methods for accomplishing this task, and in BookII we discuss more methods.

Back to Problem Number One

Before we need to be concerned about matching different questionstrings, we must be concerned about what the questions mean. Users needto know what answer to expect when they enter a question, and they needto know what answer to supply to a question. And yet the fact is that,in the minds of users, more than one answer can almost always satisfy aquestion. That is a fundamental fact and AC needs rules and proceduresfor dealing it.

Why do multiple answers correspond to a single question? Again, whoknows. We very superficially point to six reasons below:

The Incompleteness of Language

Words are something we use to refer to things. As mentioned above, wecannot refer to anything with perfect precision, meaning we cannot referto anything that is completely unique. (Depending on your point of view,there may be exceptions in the ideal world of math.) The things that werefer to actually have so many details that our language can only get usto a point where we generally agree on what is being referred to. Thereis no exact description, only good enough.

Words express (refer to) ideas. Ideas refer to similar patterns. But wedon't know what similar means, how it works. All we know is that anyidea refers to innumerable things that we call similar. For example, theword house refers to an innumerable slew of similar configurations andwe can't say what that slew is. Even when we say something that seemsunique, such as, that house right there, we might be referring to thehouse now, in the future, in the past, and there are otherpossibilities. When it is “clear” what a statement refers to, that isbecause we have unconsciously agreed with each other about thecorrespondence scheme in a way that we do not understand. Somequestions, such as, Who was the first President of the United States ofAmerica?, do seem to have a unique, obvious answer because of theunconscious, collective rules we have agreed on. However, most questionswe ask each other do not describe unique, mutually agreed upon answers.Take, for example, What's the best way to make some money? or How do youget to the nearest mailbox?. Like all descriptions, our questiondescriptions are incomplete.

Now a question describes an answer. And an answer itself describessomething. So a question is a description of a description. That doesnot change the fundamental situation, which is that we cannot describethings with perfect precision.

We can think of the classic example of a map. If we ask someone, What isa map of Brooklyn?, what details should she draw in the map? Even if wedescribe the map we want more specifically, our description of the mapwe want will be incomplete. When our cartographer looks at the realworld, she will reflect various details of the real world that we didnot specify. The same principle holds for more conventional answers.When we describe an answer, by asking a question, someone trying toanswer the question, even ourselves, will find when we look at reality(or whatever system we are looking at) that many answers might match theconditions we have set forth in the question.

The Economics of Language

Usually in our first attempt to describe something we are less precisethan we could be. For example, we might ask, Where's the store? ratherthan, Where's the grocery store? rather than, Where's the grocery storethat's within walking distance? rather than, Where's the grocery storethat I can walk to in less than five minutes?. Why do we start out beingless precise than we could be? Because, on average: (the cost of beingless precise+the cost of correcting confusion) is less than (the cost ofbeing more precise+the cost of correcting less confusion). In otherwords, it pays to be vague at first because people usually understandwhat we are saying even when we are vague. When they don't understand,we clarify. The cost of clarifying is less than the cost of stating moredetails in the first place. That is a beauty of how we use language. Italso means that we naturally ask questions in a way that leaves muchroom for various possible answers.

The Flexibility of Language

To repeat, there are many ways of stating (making) a description. Ananswer is a description of something and therefore can be stated invirtually countless ways.

Ignorance

Since we are often ignorant about what we want when we ask a question,we will not ask it very precisely and so leave open many possibleanswers. For example, say we ask, What is the patent office's form for acontinuing application? Let's say we don't know that there multipletypes of continuing applications and multiple forms. And so, multipleanswers are satisfactory. Even we who ask the question cannot say thatone form satisfies the question better than another. As another example,say we ask, What is a durable pair of tennis shoes?. Since we do notreally know what we are looking for (we are probably not experts on thedurability of tennis shoes) and do not know what the possibilities are(the possible shoes), we will usually describe conditions in a vague way(durable shoes) that can be satisfied by multiple answers (the names ofmultiple brands of shoes).

Multiple Ways to a Goal

A question is the statement of conditions that an answer must match.Often we think of a question as stating a goal and of the answer asinstructions on how to achieve that goal. In other words, a questionstates a problem and an answer is a solution. As we know there areusually innumerable ways to solve a problem, to get to a goal. How mayways are there to get a message from the East Coast to California, forinstance? Well, there are a hell of a lot.

Different Minds

People have different minds and so the same statements, includingquestions, can mean different things to different people. Even whenpeople agree that two answers satisfy a question, one answer might popinto one person's head while another answer will pop into the otherperson's head. These two people will not supply the same answer to thequestion. As an impractical definition, we might say that a questionwith a single answer is one in which everybody interested in the answeragrees on the best answer.

Why a Problem and What to Do?

Now if there can be multiple answers to a question then users may beconfused as to what answer to expect and what answer to supply, and thatwill lead to the system failing—for why ask a question if one has verylittle chance of getting the answer one wants back, and why supply ananswer if one cannot expect that it will satisfy users who ask thecorresponding question?

There is never a guarantee that we will receive an answer that we arelooking for or that we will supply an answer that others are lookingfor. But we can raise our chances. AC requires rules and procedures sothat users can have a good chance of agreeing on what answers to expectand what answers to supply to given questions.

Basically there are two approaches that AC can use. One it can includerules that define what a satisfactory answer is in such a way that thepossible answers are tightly constrained. The other is to include rulesthat allow people to enter multiple answers but to do so in a way thatthe answers are differentiated and labeled. We will describe such rulesand procedures chapter 5, and then further in Book II.

Before doing that we note an important consequence of the multipleanswer reality.

The Flip Side

The flip side of having multiple possible answers to a question is thata question does not represent one answer. Thus a person posting aquestion has a chance of getting an answer that satisfies him. And theperson supplying the answer has a chance of supplying an answer thatsatisfies the requestor. Moreover, if there are multiple people askingthe same question, there is a chance that different answers that willsatisfy them; a single answer has a chance of satisfying a percentage ofthe requesters. We may guess at these chances and but we know that thereis no certainty when a question does not represent a unique answer.

This also means that the information that is collected in a questionrecord might or might not apply to the answer that is provided. Demandinformation, to take the most important example, then has to bediscounted in some way, in the sense that it applies to onlyprobabilistically to any answer that a supplier has in mind. Say 20people have asked for the price of a gallon of gasoline at a certain gasstation. But also say that the station has three grades of gas. How manypeople are asking for three prices? And how many are interested just ina single price, and which price? And so what is “the” answer? And whatis the request count for “the” answer? There is no solid count; thedemand record contains a count that can be used statistically inarriving at a guess about the interest in a likely answer or answers.

Demand information is only one kind of information that is collectedabout an answer. The same principle applies to all Q-info. What answerdoes the Q-info correspond to? There is no solid, single answer.

Note on Terminology

Since questions can have more than one answer, it seems that we shouldstay away from the term the answer. But it will be used frequently forthree reasons. First, it is convenient. “The answer” is easier to saythan “an undefinable, infinite set of potential answers.” Second, inmany contexts it is apt (for example, if there is one answer in AC to aquestion then that answer is the answer in AC). Third, force of habit.The reader should apply common sense when seeing the term the answer.

The term an answer can also be misleading. For example, it is misleadingto say that a question describes an answer. And yet for the reasonsabove, we will often use the term an answer. Again, the reader should becareful.

Likewise the reader should use common sense when seeing the terms thesame answer and the same question. Usually there is no such thing as theexact same thing, except where we are thinking of question strings thatexactly match each other and answer strings that exactly match eachother.

Chapter 5 How Questions Can Correspond to Answers in AC 5.0 Organizationof This Chapter

Having discussed the correspondence between questions and answers in theminds of people, let us now discuss it in AC. Questions and answers mustcorrespond to each other within AC in some concrete way. There arevarious possible ways, which we'll call correspondence paths. By thesewe mean how questions and answers are related to each other within AC,and how answers get in and out of the system.

To get questions and answers in and out of AC requires the actions ofusers, so in describing correspondence paths we also describe how usersand AC interact.

The place to start is with questions, for they precede answers in AC.Questions are inputted and outputted. And they are the starting point ofthe input and output of answers because answers are stored to correspondto questions, and answers are outputted in response to questions.

Therefore, in section 5.1, we discuss various aspects of questions: howthey are entered into the system and stored, how users can “travel” tothem, what can be done “at” them, and how they can be linked to oneanother. In this section, we also elaborate on the idea of a questionlocation (Q-location).

AC enables users to enter different types of questions. The way answersare inputted and outputted depends on the type of question involved.However, in terms of creating a location in memory, a question type canbe thought of as a Q-spec, as described in chapter 3. We list the basictypes of questions here. They will be elaborated on in this chapter.

-   a. Plain Old Questions. By these we mean questions that users can    answer. These are the staple questions of the system. They    predominate by far.-   b. Combo-Questions. By these we mean questions that users answer by    contributing separate answers that AC combines into a larger answer.-   c. Function Based Questions. By these we mean questions that    activate special search and processing functions that operate on    questions and answers that are in AC. Usually users cannot supply    answers to these questions. Further, these questions do not really    have questions strings, they have what we call subject information.-   d. Auto-Questions. By these we mean questions that are created by AC    based on questions that users have entered. Users can answer    auto-questions.

In section 5.2, we discuss answer input paths, how answers are gotteninto AC to correspond to questions.

In section 5.3, we discuss answer output paths, how answers are gottenout of AC in response to questions.

The discussion in sections 5.2 and 5.3 applies to plain old questions,combo questions and auto questions.

We wait until section 5.4 to discuss function base d questions.

In section 5.5 we briefly discuss how to combine question information,particularly demand information, when an answer is requested frommultiple questions.

The example questions in this chapter are colloquial and are suited fora system that can handle natural language. We use colloquial questionsbecause they are easier to think about and because they prepare for BookII, where methods for handling natural language are described. Still,the discussion in this chapter applies to questions and answers whosegrammar is highly constrained as well.

5.1 Creating, Finding, and Traveling to Questions

In this section we describe how AC enables users to create, find andtravel to questions. AC presents options for doing these things at theQ-display. The options are presented to users in all modes. There aresome differences in what happens depending on the mode the user is in.We will be discussing request and supply modes primarily (there areother modes which are described later).

In FIG. 4.10, the options are grouped in three areas: Q-info, Show andGo. They are grouped this way for illustration's sake, not because thisway is best. In illustrating these options we ignore the many otheroptions that AC presents at the Q-display, for they are not the concernof this section.

5.1a Seven Definitions

Definitions are given here of some key features and processes of AC thatare discussed in this chapter. Other features and processes are definedalong the way. The first three definitions below are basically repeatedfrom chapters 1 and 3.

1. A Question

In this chapter, when we say a question we usually mean it in the senseof a Q-string that a user enters. The Q-string may be made up of a mainstring and question specifiers. Or, it may be just a main string. (Seechapter 3.)

2. A Question Record (Q-Record)

The record AC creates to store information about a question and aboutthe answer(s) that the question represents.

3. A Question Display (Q-Display)

The interface AC presents to users. It shows a question and numerousoptions and sub-options. We call these Q-display options. As illustratedin FIG. 3, these include options for:

-   entering questions 70, 71,-   finding questions 70, 71, 72, 74,-   entering information into Q-records 72, 75, 76,-   getting information from Q-records 73,-   finding answers 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,-   buying answers 75, and-   entering (supplying) answers 76.    4. The Current Question

The main subject of the Q-display is called the current question(current-Q). When we say main subject we mean that the question isnormally shown on screen and that the Q-display options apply to it andits Q-record. However, AC can show more than one question at a time, andseveral of the Q-display options can apply to these other questions aswell. Thus, when we say the current-Q we mean the question that most ofthe options apply to. The current-Q is not necessarily shown on screen.This is because AC may instead display other questions, or an answer, ora sub-menu for a given option. If the current-Q is hidden, it can becalled up by a Show Current-Q command.

5. Being at a Question

“Being at a question” is another way of saying that the user ispresented with the current-Q and/or with the options that apply to thecurrent-Q.

6. The Null Question

The null question (null-Q) means the absence of a current-Q or of anyquestion. The user can enter a command, which we might call Null Q, inorder to clear the screen of questions. The user is then at the null-Q.When there is no current-Q, fewer options apply. Those that do applyallow the user to enter a new question. They may also enable the user tocall up past questions.

7. Traveling To (Going To, Arriving At) a Question

Traveling to a question means that a user enters a question, or selectsa question on screen, to be the next current-Q, and that AC then makesthat entry or selection the current-Q. When we say “makes” we mean theprocess by which AC finds the question and presents it to the user asthe main subject of the Q-display, or, if the question does not existalready in AC, the process by which AC creates the question in memoryand then presents it to the user as the main subject of the Q-display.

5.1b Entering a Question

At the Q-display, AC enables a user to enter a question string.

Because the user can enter various types of information besides aQ-string, AC can have the user first press a Q-string button 100 toidentify the information. Or AC can simply let the user designate aQ-string area on screen and type the question in there. Or AC candefault to assuming that the user is entering a Q-string.

After the user is satisfied with the question he presses an Enter 101button to complete the entry. (In certain lands, AC might not have theuser hit Enter, but we leave this possibility aside, for it only appliesin special cases.)

AC enables the user to edit the question, if he so desires, in order tomake a new question. After editing, he hits Enter again.

He can clear the screen by pressing Null Q 102.

Note: For illustration purposes, as we continue this discussion, we willuse certain questions, such as, What's holding up traffic?. These haveno special significance.

5.1c The Main Rule of Creation

When a user enters a question AC does a look-up to see if the questionis already stored. If the question is not already stored, AC stores itand creates a question record to go along with the question in memory.That is the main rule of creation.

We call a question string and its question record a question location(Q-location). In FIG. 4.11 we picture a Q-location 130 as a circle withits Q-string 131 written inside and with its Q-record 132 as a rectanglewithin the circle as well. The missing (potential) answer is pictured asa blank square 133 connected to the circle. As we go along, we will addto this scheme.

AC stores the new question such that it can become a current-Q. In otherwords, it is a location in memory not just in the sense of storage butin the sense that the user can find it, be taken to it, and in the sensethat the Q-display options apply to it and its Q-record.

Technically, any information the user enters can be stored and calledup. The point here is that a location is created that users find whenthey enter a matching question—that AC finds for them, that is, whenthey enter a matching question. (We discuss matching questions in 5.1d,below.)

When the Rule Applies

So the main rule of creation is that a Q-location is made for each newquestion entered. However, this rule is not applied in all cases.Whether it applies depends on what mode the user is in and what theuser's purpose is in entering the question. The idea behind the rule isthat questions are created to enable people to express interest in andto find answers.

Thus, if the user is a requestor, then the rule holds because the user'spurpose is to ask for an answer. That is what request mode means.

If the user is a supplier, the rule holds when the supplier also entersan answer to go along with the question.

(Note: What is registered in the Q-record at the time of creationdiffers depending on the user's mode. For example, when a supplierenters a question, AC does not register demand information.)

If the user is in another mode, such as browse or check mode, the ruledoes not usually hold because users are not asking for or supplyinganswers.

A user can enter a new question for other reasons that require AC tocreate a Q-location. For example, a user in supply (or browse or check)mode may enter a question to test demand. In other words, a potentialsupplier may post a question not because she plans to supply the answerbut to see if others will express interest in the answer. A potentialsupplier may also post a question because she intends to supply theanswer in the future and wants to collect demand in the meantime, orbecause she wants to post a reservation message (see chapter 8). So ACcan create Q-locations under more circumstances than a user being inrequest mode and entering a question, or a user being in supply mode andentering a question and an answer.

AC can include an option enabling a user to designate the purpose of aquestion.

But what if a user is in request or supply mode and is just browsingand/or checking POE's? Here we have a problem because AC cannot divinethe user's intention and can only rely on the user telling it. Thus ACcan have various default rules. For example, if a user is in supplymode, AC may create a question only temporarily. If the user does notthen enter an answer, or does not designate some special purpose for thequestion, AC may erase the question. The default rules can vary.

Another important case where the main rule holds is when a user, inwhatever mode, wants to enter a question in order to link it to another.Here, again, the purpose is to help people find an answer or expressinterest in an answer.

And as a variation on the main rule, AC may only store a question uponconfirmation from the user that he wants the question to be stored.

Having said all this, it is possible, as a design decision, for the mainrule of creation to always hold. AC can store all new questions andcreate locations for them. But it seems that better default rules can becreated to fulfill the underlying idea of creating questions to enablepeople to express interest in and find answers.

In section 5.2 we elaborate on the notion of Q-locations.

5.1d Finding/Matching a Question

As discussed, when a question is entered, AC looks for a match. Here weelaborate on what happens.

First we must point out that in order to default to “best” matches, ACmay also rely on A-stats information in the Q-records of potentialmatches. In other words, AC does not so much match questions as itmatches Q-locations. The match seen by the user may only be a Q-stringbut still, AC may be using A-stats information as well to arrive at thatmatch.

Now, AC may find no match. It may find an exact match. And it may find“best” matches which we will also call tentative matches.

Even if an exact match is found, AC still looks for tentative matches.These can be important because the user may want to see what similarquestions have been asked by others. The similar questions might haveanswers the user is interested in. And they might have A-stats that theuser is interested in.

How many matches are found is a design decision that depends on thedefaults built into AC's matching rules.

(Note: In this section we are concerned with how a user finds a questionwith a Q-string. A user can also find an answer. We save that subjectfor the section 5.3.)

Rephrase Option for Finding Questions

AC can also enable a user to enter multiple versions of a question insearch of a good match. Let's say the user enters, What's holding uptraffic?, and AC finds no match. Therefore, he continues to rephrase thequestion:

-   What's the cause of all this traffic?-   Why is the traffic all jammed up?-   Traffic jam, basic info?    He can do this by erasing the current-Q, or by pressing Null Q, and    then entering a new question, until he finds a good match, if one    exists.

AC can also give him the option of pressing what we will call a rephrasebutton 103. When he presses this, it means that the next questionentered is a rephrase of the current-Q. This signifies to AC that ACshould use information from both Q-strings to find a good match. Theremay be more than two questions involved because the user can hit therephrase button before entering a third question, and a fourth, and soon. Combined information from multiple questions may result in a moresuccessful search.

(We will see in Book II how AC link the different phrasings with arephrase link.)

Finding Matches to the Current-Q

We will be discussing, in 5.1g, how users can travel to a question byselecting it, rather than entering it. The reason we mention that hereis to point out that AC can look for the matches to a current-Q, eventhough the user has gotten there by selecting it, rather than enteringit.

AC may look for matches to the current-Q automatically, as it does whenthe user enters a question, or a user can ask to see matching questions.

As noted, the option of seeing matching question enables a user to seequestions in AC that are similar to the current-Q.

Next we discuss how AC can show matches. But first we digress briefly onthe subject of matching.

Digression on the Importance of “Best” (Tentative) Match Algorithms

Best match algorithms are essential to the operation of AC because,unless the grammar of the questions is highly constrained, peoplesearching for the same answer will rarely enter the same questionstring. People will usually enter similar strings. Even if the grammaris highly constrained, people will still often enter similar questions,while looking for the same answer. For example, two people looking forthe same phone number may enter different questions, such as: DaneelOlivaw's phone number? and R. Daneel Olivaw's phone number?.

A question that is entered into AC needs to be tentatively matched upagainst existing questions so that the user who entered the question hasthe option of finding and selecting a match. A user might not select anymatch. But, if there was no option of selecting matching questions, thenusers would not be able to see what similar questions other users haveasked, and so there would be little accumulation of demand onquestions—little accumulation of demand for answers, that is.

AC must do the tentative matching, of course, because users do not knowwhat potential matches exist in AC.

Let's consider one more example. Assume that What's holding up traffic?has been asked in several languages and is translated into a commonlanguage. Yet this is a false assumption, for there is no singlequestion in different languages that means What's holding up traffic?.There are similar questions. As noted in chapter 4, there is no singleQ-string for any question. When we think of a question in differentlanguages this fact is exposed.

If we are to match, say, two synonymous questions that have been statedin different languages, we need best match algorithms, for if wetranslate one question into the language of the other, the two Q-stringsin the same language will rarely be exact matches.

Many techniques are known for enabling computers to find text matches.We do not go into them. We do note that while these techniques areessential, they are all deficient because no one knows how to program acomputer to do a good job of recognizing similar things.

(We should note that people are often unable to decide what the bestmatch is for a question because people do not know what best matchmeans. Still, people are much better at matching than computers, as longas the set of potential matches is small.)

Digression on the Inadequacy of Best (Tentative) Matching Alone

The problem of matching a question against existing questions goesbeyond the difficulties of machine matching. A bigger problem is thefact that innumerable similar questions can describe the “same” answer.Thus users can, and will, create a profusion of similar questions, allpotential matches. But if there are hundreds or thousands or millions orbillions or trillions of similar questions, how to find and showpotential matches to a given question? And how to decide which potentialmatch is the “right” match for a given question?

Say Rex asks where he can find a certain T-shirt that he describes inhis question. Rex can ask that the T-shirt have a certain price, that itbe made in a certain country, that it be a certain percentage of cotton,that it be a certain color, that it be a certain size, that it be acertain thickness, and on and on. The possibilities are endless.

And say that 10,000,000 other people in the past have asked where theycan buy a certain T-shirt and that each person has described a differentshirt, though we might recognize many of the shirts as similar. Now, howcan AC find the “right” match for Rex's question among the 10,000,000possible matching questions in AC? How can a human find the right match?Well, no one can, for there is no right match. The reality is aprofusion of similar questions. How then to match them-up?

A solution to this problem is described in Book II and is previewed atthe end of this section. Here, all we say is that AC's matching rules ofcourse include defaults for limiting and selecting the matches shown tothe current-Q.

5.1e Showing Matching Questions

If AC finds an exact match then it tells the user.

If AC cannot find an exact match it may find one or more tentativematches. These can be shown in an area on the Q-display for matchingquestions.

If AC cannot find an exact or tentative match, it shows a “no matches”message.

If AC finds an exact match, it still may show tentative matches. That isbecause, as noted, a user may want to see similar questions that otherusers have asked.

AC enables users to press a scroll command 106 for scrolling through thematching questions.

How much of a matching question is shown is a design decision anddepends on the situation.

AC can hide matching questions and enable the user to call them up byentering a command such as, Show Matches 107.

While tentatively matching questions are not current-Q's, AC can appendcertain key A-stats to them, such as whether they have answers. Thesestatistics come from the Q-records of the questions involved.

Match Statistics

AC can show match statistics (match stats) for the question entered. Bythese we mean statistics about how many tentative matches AC can findfor a question. Of course, there may be a large number of such matches.For example, What's holding up traffic? might have one exact match andbillions of tentative matches. (In this situation the user would usuallywant to further specify the question.)

(Note: AC can show match stats for a current-Q regardless of how a usergot there.)

Digression on Multiple Hits

In many conventional data base systems, there are search methods thatyield “multiple hits” in cases where the search key is an exact subsetof multiple targets in the data base. For example, let us pretend that adata base has the terms Yabba Dabba and Yabba Dabba Doo. Now let uspretend that the search key is Yabba. In many conventional data bases, asearch would yield two hits.

But in AC, the search does not yield a hit in this sense. The ACprocedure is:

-   Enter Yabba.-   Do look-up to find Yabba.-   Yabba found?-   If no, create Q-location for Yabba.-   Look for tentative matches.-   (Yabba Dabba and Yabba Dabba Doo might or might not then be    tentative matches.)

The point is that AC creates a new Q-location for any new Q-stringregardless if it is a subset of some other string. Little is differentfrom Little Red is different from Little Red Schoolhouse and Little RedRiding Hood. Thus AC treats them differently.

Now having said all this, we note that AC can show conventional hitstatistics so that if a user enters, for example, What's holding uptraffic?, AC can show how many questions What's holding up traffic? isan exact subset of. Ideally, AC shows how many very similar questionsthere are, and similarity is not definable in terms of exact subsets.

5.1f Showing Other Questions

In addition to showing matching questions, or rather than showingmatching questions, AC can enable the user to see other questions.

AC can enable the user to press a command 108 for seeing the previousquestion. By previous question we mean the previous current-Q. Thisoption is a useful skip back command.

AC can keep a list of questions that the user has asked during a certainperiod of time. And AC can include a command 109 enabling the user tocall up questions from this list, such as the last ten questions theuser has entered.

AC can also enable the user to maintain a list of open questions,questions that have not been answered but that the user still wantsanswered. The list can be kept in the user record. AC can include acommand 110 enabling the user to call up this list.

AC can also include a command 111 enabling a user to see linkedquestions of various kinds. We say various kinds because there aredifferent kinds of links, which we will discuss later, especially inBook II.

5.1g Traveling to a Question

We use the colloquial term, “travels to” a question for the process bywhich a user identifies a question and AC makes the question thecurrent-Q 112. We also use the terms “arrives at” and “goes to.”

As noted, the current-Q is not necessarily shown all the time. Forexample, when an answer that corresponds to the question is shown, theuser may not see the current-Q. The current-Q may be hidden for variousother reasons. Thus AC includes a command 113 for showing the current-Qif it is hidden.

Before arriving at any question, a user is at no question. We call thisbeing at the null question. The user starts his travels then by enteringa question, or by calling up a question from his user record. (When wesay “he,” we do not only mean Rex; we mean a user in any mode.)

As noted, there are two basic ways a user can travel to a question:

-   1. He can enter a question. AC then makes this question the    current-Q.-   2. He can select a question that is on screen. AC then makes this    question the current-Q.

As discussed, a question on screen, other than the current-Q, may be amatching question, a question from a list of previous questions, aquestion from the user record, or a linked question. It may also be acomparison question, which we describe a little bit later.

When we say “select” here we mean that the user designates that he wantsthe question to be the current-Q, that he wants to go to the question.He might designate this by selecting it and then hitting a Go 114command, for instance.

The reason we distinguish the type of selection is that the user canselect a question in order to have other options apply. (As noted, someQ-display options apply not only to the current-Q.) For example, theuser might select a question in order to see A-stats about it. In thiscase he might select it and hit a See A-stats 115 command.

AC may not show all of a question on screen. Partial information can beshown and the user can select that. Likewise, AC might have buttons fordesignating certain kinds of questions, such as the previous current-Qand the null-Q. The user can select one of these and hit Go as well.

Surveying the Scenery

A variation on the plan above is the following. AC can enable the userto choose an option whereby the user enters a question and AC only showsmatching questions. By this we mean that if the user enters a questionthat is new, AC still creates a Q-location for it, but does not show allthe usual options. The question is still the current-Q, but it ishidden.

AC shows the user tentatively matching questions and options that applyto these. The reason for this travel option is that a user looking foran answer might not want to mess around with a new question that hemight create. He might want to get an existing answer, or he might wantto get to a question that others have asked. Thus AC can enable the userto choose an option whereby he does not see the usual options if hisquestion is new. (Of course the user might want to see the current-Q andcan enter a Show Current-Q command, in which case AC shows the usualQ-display options that apply to the current-Q.)

Tentative Current Question

As a further variation on the plan above, the user can ask AC to showthe single best match AC can find, and the user can confirm whether thismatch is adequate. The difference here from showing multiple matchingquestions on an equal basis is that AC may show more A-stats about the“single best” match than it would ordinarily show about other matchquestions.

AC may show A-stats as if the best match was the current-Q. It may, forexample, show matches of the best match. When AC does this, we mightthink of the single best match as the tentative current-Q.

If the user confirms the best match it becomes a real current-Q. Thisconfirmation is another way of selecting a question on screen.

If the user does not confirm the best match or does not select any othermatches to go to, he can continue entering questions until he issatisfied with a match.

Seeing Matching Questions to the Current-Q

As noted in sub-section 5.1d, AC can find matches for the current-Qregardless of whether the user got there by entering the question orselecting an existing question on screen. As noted, AC can include aShow Matches command. This command, when pressed, can signify that theuser wants to see best matches to the current-Q. Enabling the user tosee matches to the current-Q is a critical option because it allows theuser to see and travel to questions that are similar to a givenquestion. This applies not only to a new question that a user enters butto any question a user is at.

Travel Options

From the preceding we can see that a user can land in AC in variousways, and can continue on his travels once he lands. He can land at anentirely new question that he entered and that AC has created for him.He can land at a question that has already been created. He can land atno question, merely surveying what questions are similar to the one heentered. And he can choose to go to one of these similar questions. Whenat a question he can see questions similar to that question. And he cango to one of these as well. Or from where he is he can enter a newquestion and be taken there. Or he can ask to see some of the previousquestions he has been at. And he can select one of these as well. Or hecan ask to be taken back to the origin, to the null question.

Come-From and Go-To Questions

A user will often go to a tentatively matching question. When thishappens, we will call the question that the user came from, the previouscurrent-Q that is, a come-from question (come-from-Q). From the point ofview of the question that becomes the previous current-Q, we call thenew current-Q a go-to question (go-to-Q).

For a given question, AC can register what question a user arrives fromand what question a us er goes to. Naturally, when a user travels fromone question to another, AC can register the fact in two questionrecords, at the origination airport and the arrival airport if you will.We call this information arrival stats and destination stats. (Bothkinds of information together will be called travel stats.)

Pseudo Traveling Using Want-it Marks

When Rex travels to a question it is often to express interest in thecorresponding direct answer. AC can give Rex another way to expressinterest in a missing answer without having Rex actually travel to thecorresponding question.

As discussed above, when Rex is at a question he may see one or morematching questions. He may be interested in the answer to one or more ofthese. As noted, when AC shows these matches, it can also show Rex thatthe questions do not have actual answers. Rather than have Rex go tothese questions to express interest in their answers, AC can enable himto express interest by marking the questions with a want-it mark. ACmay, for instance, have a check box next to each matching question whoseanswer is missing. If Rex checks the box it means he wants thecorresponding answer.

Now AC may also enable Rex to make a price offer but that is beside thepoint here. The main thing is that AC can enable Rex to express interestin the answers to matching questions without traveling to those otherquestions. This option can be an important convenience. Not only can itsave Rex time but can show AC what are good matches to a question andcan help Rex pool demand on given questions.

For future discussions, particularly those about registering demandinformation, a want-it mark will be considered a kind of request, eventhough Rex does not go to the question that is marked.

5.1h Question Specifiers

As discussed in chapter 3, AC enables a user to enter standard questionspecifiers (Q-specs) that are a kind of Q-string information. AsQ-string information, AC uses Q-specs to create Q-locations. It alsouses them to find existing questions.

A user can enter Q-specs along with a main string. AC can include aQ-spec button 116 that a user selects to call up a Q-spec form, enablinghim to enter the Q-specs.

He can also enter the Q-specs after he has entered the main string. Forexample, a user might enter What's holding up traffic?. There might beone exact match and 5,000,000,000 tentative matches for this mainstring. And so the user might then enter certain Q-specs to furtherspecify his question. He might enter for example:

-   Time: 6:30 a.m.-   Date: Jun. 6, 1996-   Place: Ten Freeway, La.-   Source: California Highway Patrol

Just as a user can edit the main string, the user can edit Q-specs,changing them and then entering the new question that is created. Forexample, the user can change the Q-spec above concerning the source ofthe answer to, say, Anyone Official. Or the user might erase the Q-specentirely, leaving it blank, and implying that the source can be anyoneat all. The Q-specs may be hidden. Thus, AC can include a command 117for calling up the current Q-specs as well as one for entering them.

Match Instructions

AC can enable a user to designate Q-specs as optional or mandatory. Thismeans that the mandatory conditions are preferably matched over theoptional ones. (This also tells potential suppliers that an answer mustfit the mandatory conditions.) For example, a user might designate thetime and date as mandatory and the source of the answer as optional. ACcan also enable a user to rank Q-specs in order of preference, to giveAC guidance in selecting matches.

Now when we say “match” we mean it in the sense discussed previously ofmost similar matches that AC can find according to AC's internal matchrules. Thus a Q-spec or any string information might not be matchedexactly. A Q-spec, for instance, of 10 cents or under, might be matchedby a Q-spec of 15 cents.

AC can also enable a user to designate a Q-spec to be a screen. By thiswe mean that the Q-spec must be matched in the sense of a true match.For example, if the Q-spec is 10 cents or under, then the matchingquestion must also include a Q-spec that specifies a price of 10 centsor under. 7 cents will do. 11 cents will not do.

Repeat Use of Q-Specs

Now a user may go to a matching Q-location that has different Q-specsthan those he entered. As a convenience, AC can enable the user to havethe last set of Q-specs entered kept in the background to be used for afuture question entry. We will call these background Q-specs. By this wemean that the last Q-specs entered are kept temporarily in memory andhidden from view. AC can enable the user to call them up (and edit thempossibly) and designate that they be used when he enters another mainstring. To let a user do this, AC might have, as options of the Q-specsmenu, a command called Use Previous Q-specs and a command called EditPrevious Q-specs. Or, when the user calls up the Q-spec form to enterQ-specs, AC can assume that the Q-specs remain the same from theprevious entry, until the user changes them. The point of these optionsis to save the user the time of re-entering Q-specs.

As another convenience, AC can enable a user to set Q-spec defaults suchthat a given set of Q-specs goes along with every main string the userenters, until the user cancels the default command. A Q-specs defaultcan be quite useful. For example, Rex might have lots of questions aboutthe traffic jam he is in. He might want to automatically preface themall with the same time and place Q-specs.

Matching Q-Specs Against A-Stats

As noted in chapter 3, certain Q-specs and A-stats can be about the samekinds of information. While AC treats the information differently withrespect to memory locations, it can in certain cases match Q-specinformation against A-stats information. Price information is anexample. A Q-spec might be for 10 cents or under, and an A-stats mightbe 7 cents. Here there could be a match.

Automatically Creating Two Questions

A useful procedure AC can include is to automatically create twoquestions when a user enters a set of Q-specs. In this procedure, onequestion is made up of just the main string, and one question is made upof the main string plus the Q-specs.

In FIG. 4.12, we assume a user has entered, What's holding up traffic?,and has also entered a Q-spec, 6:00 a.m. And so AC creates twolocations, one for the main string 140 and one for the main string plusQ-spec 141. We also assume another user has entered the same main stringbut with a different Q-spec of 7:00 a.m. And so AC creates a thirdQ-location 142.

Form Linking Questions

Not only can AC create these double questions but it can link them inmemory, so that users arriving at the main string can then call uplinked questions made up of the same main string plus different Q-specs.

We call this manner of linking questions form linking. And we call thelink a form link. We use this name because the Q-specs are standard andcan be entered in a form. When the difference between the two questionsis a matter of the Q-specs, we might call the link a Q-spec link.

Form linking can be quite useful for several reasons. It can enable auser to see what similar questions other users have asked. This can helprequestors find similar questions and locate similar answers.

Further, it can enable users to pool requests on particular questions,especially the main string. For example, if 100 people ask Movie reviewof Casablanca? but they all have different Q-specs, then there will be100 different questions and there will be less chance that there isenough demand to answer any one of them. But the main string may showenough demand to be answered.

On the supply side, a potential supplier is in a better position todecide whether it is worthwhile to provide an answer that may satisfysome fraction of all the users who have entered that main string.Moreover, a supplier may find other similar questions worth answering.

For example, as seen in FIG. 4.13, a user might enter, Movie review ofCasablanca? 150. Now we face the multiple answers problem discussed inthe previous chapter. What answer is the user looking for? What answershould a user supply? One partial solution is a form linked question inwhich the main string is built upon with Q-specs to create a newquestion that differentiates the answer.

Say the user wants to enter only one Q-spec, the name of the author ofthe answer (the review). A requestor would enter a desired author, sayP. Kael 151, whereas a supplier would enter the actual author, say, G.Siskel 152 (note: we do not picture the answer having been supplied).Thus AC can have numerous questions all starting with Movie review ofCasablanca? but distinguished by the names of different authors. Thesequestions are linked to the same main string.

5.1i Answer Statistics as Search Parameters

As discussed in chapter 3, AC collects, compiles and displays statistics(A-stats) about an answer. These are stored in the answer's Q-record andare accessed from the Q-display.

A-stats can also be entered by a user along with a Q-string asadditional search parameters to find a question (and perhaps an answer).When used for this purpose, we will call them search stats. AC caninclude a command 118 that, when pressed, calls up a form for enteringsearch stats.

We will call the combination of Q-string and search stat information aQ+.

AC matches a Q+ against existing Q-string+A-stats information in AC. Inother words, it matches them against existing Q-locations.

For example, a user might enter the Q-string: Movie review ofCasablanca?. There might be one exact match and 5,000,000 tentativematches. And so the user might then enter search stats to furtherspecify his question. For example:

-   Popularity: Most popular answer by sales-   Length: Less than 200 words-   Price: Less than 50 cents

AC then shows the user the Q-locations that best match this information.AC may show just the matching Q-strings. Or AC may show the A-stats thatcorrespond to the search stats as well.

Now the A-stats that are shown may differ depending on whether aquestion has a missing answer or an actual answer. But we do not pursuethis point right now. As noted, in this section we are concerned withhow users find and arrive at questions. As discussed in sections 5.2 and5.3, a user can also find an answer with a Q+. We wait until section 5.2to discuss what A-stats are shown when a user arrives at a question withan actual answer or answers.

Just as a user can edit Q-specs, the user can edit search stats,changing them and then entering the new Q+that is created.

Match Instructions

As with Q-specs, AC can enable a user to designate given search stats asoptional or mandatory. This means that the mandatory conditions arepreferably matched over the optional ones. AC can also enable a user torank search stats in order of preference, to give AC guidance inselecting matches.

As before, when we say “match” we mean it in the sense discussedpreviously of the most similar matches that AC can find according toAC's internal match rules.

AC can also enable a user to designate given search stats as screens. Asbefore, by this we mean that the search stats must be matched in thesense of a true match. For example, if the search stat is 10 cents orunder, then the matching A-stats must also be equal to or less than 10cents. 11 cents will not do.

Repeat Use of Search Stats

Now when a user arrives at a Q-location, the location has no searchstats. It does have A-stats, but these are not search stats; they arenot used to search for a question or answer that is.

As a convenience, AC can enable the user to have the last set of searchstats entered kept in the background to be used for a future questionentry. We will call these background search stats. By this we mean thatthe last search stats entered are kept temporarily in memory and hiddenfrom view. AC can enable the user to call them up (and edit thempossibly) and designate that they be used when he enters anotherQ-string. To let a user do this, AC can have, as options of the searchstats menu, a command called Use Previous Search Stats and a commandcalled Edit Previous Search Stats. Or, when the user calls up the formto enter search stats, AC can assume that the search stats remain thesame from the previous entry, until the user changes them. The point ofthese options is to save the user time.

As another convenience, AC can enable a user to set search stat defaultssuch that a given set of search stats goes along with every Q-string theuser enters, until the user cancels the default command. This defaultoption can be quite useful. For example, returning to our traffic jam,Rex might have lots of questions about the jam. He might want toautomatically preface them all with, say, the same price and qualityinformation.

Matching Q-Specs

In certain cases, search stats can be matched against Q-specs.

Little Digression

There are essential aspects of answers that cannot be supplied by anysingle individual. And there are essential aspects that have nothing todo with information in the sense of bits and bytes. This is afascinating thing about answers. Aspects such as credibility and demandcome from elsewhere.

And they are crucial to the value of answers.

Thus people want to know about these aspects and people ask for answersbased upon them. For instance, people want credible answers. If Rexasks, How should I teach a blind person to walk across the street?, Rexwill surely want to know that the technique supplied has been welltested. There are various ways of verifying answers. We do not have anyperfect way. And yet the fact that an answer has been verified changesthe answer (and can be reflected in A-stats).

Credibility is an obvious case of an aspect of an answer that isvaluable though not well understood. Let's take a less obvious examplethat is quite important where AC is concerned, and that is the exampleof demand. Say a user wants to find an actual answer in AC and findsnone that he is satisfied with. He might then want to find a missinganswer that is similar and that also has a high POE. He might want tofind such an answer in order to pool demand with other requesters.Indeed, the intentional pooling of demand will turn out in many cases tobe a critical way that the POE is raised high enough for a given answerto be supplied. And if the answer is supplied, it can be found by itsdemand, its popularity that is. So demand is an aspect of a missing oractual answer that we do not understand but that can be critical tochoosing the answer.

AC compiles statistics that enable people to differentiate answers basedon many essential, though perhaps poorly understood, aspects of answers.This is a key feature of AC.

Imperfect Representation

As we have discussed, questions represent answers. The A-stats that comefrom the Q-record of a given Q-string are part of the representation ofan answer, whether the answer is missing or present.

The A-stats also show us how imperfect any representation is, especiallya representation that changes in time. For example, if an answer has nocomplaints registered against it one day and ten the next, is it adifferent answer? Yes, in the minds of potential buyers it is.

And yet we collect demand for an answer based on who arrives at thecorresponding question. Why do we collect demand information based onwhat questions people arrive at rather than on what questions peoplearrive at and on what A-stats are showing at the times of arrival? Whynot? Because the A-stats change. Therefore, Ewe cannot say what answeris represented. We cannot collect enough demand. So we compromise anduse questions as the static surrogates for answers.

Now it is possible to show what A-stats were showing at the times thateach requestor arrived at a question and made an offer for thecorresponding answer. AC can enable users to see this information. Itcan be important for deciding whether or not to supply an answer. Still,the problem remains; there is no perfect way to represent an answer,especially one that changes in time.

Q-Locations Created?

So does AC create a new Q-location using the A-stats that are enteredalong with a Q-string? No, not when A-stats are used as searchparameters (search stats). Users in any mode can use A-stats as searchparameters. To explain why Q-locations are not created with them, wewill assume Rex is the one entering them. The same reasoning holds forusers in other modes.

When Rex enters A-stats along with a Q-string, the purpose is to find aquestion (and possibly an actual answer, if one has been supplied). Likethe Q-string, A-stats describe an answer, which may be actual ormissing. As discussed in chapter 3, what makes A-stats informationdifferent from Q-string information generally is that A-stat informationdescribes aspects of an answer that are not expected to be supplied.

Many important aspects of answers can be described by A-stats but cannotbe supplied directly. We repeat some examples previously given becauseA-stats are important, and in many ways new.

For example, Rex can ask for the answer to the question:

-   Biography of Hans Bethe?-   Rex can specify an A-stats of: Good reviews.-   Sue cannot supply an answer with good reviews.-   Rex can specify an A-stats of: Most popular by sales.-   Sue cannot supply an answer with high sales.-   Rex can specify an A-stats of: No verified complaints.-   Sue cannot supply an answer with no verified complaints.-   Rex can specify an A-stats of: POE above $10.-   Sue cannot supply an answer with a given POE level.-   Rex can specify an A-stats of: Price under $1.-   Sue may be able to supply an answer at a given price. But she may    not be setting prices. Price is an example of information that can    be Q-string and/or A-stats information. If the price is set by AC,    then Sue, obviously, cannot supply an answer with a given price.

As noted, many A-stats can be phrased in terms of Q-string information.For example, Rex can specify in a Q-string that an answer is to be undera certain length. This information can also be specified as an A-stats.That does not affect the idea of A-stats. The user decides how to enterthe information, as Q-string or A-stats or both. If the user decides toenter the information as an A-stats then it is understood that AC willnot create a Q-location with the information.

The bottom line is that Rex can enter A-stats to find a question (andcorresponding answer), by matching the A-stats in the question'sQ-record.

If the Q-string that Rex is entering is new then AC creates a locationfor it. But AC does not create a new location for the Q-string+A-statsin the sense that has been previously explained: a place that AC takesusers to when they enter a question, a place people select to find ananswer, and a place people go to to supply an answer.

Pseudo Locations

As noted, a Q-string plus search stats is called a Q+. AC can store a Q+in memory. Further, a Q+ can have a record that contains key facts aboutthe Q+, such as who entered it and when and how many people entered it.We call a Q+ and its record by the name pseudo location.

A pseudo location is created in addition to normal Q-location, not inplace of it. We use the term “pseudo” because AC does not take users tothis location when it matches questions to Q-locations and when itmatches Q+'s to Q-locations.

Why create a pseudo location then? The main reason is that it can beused as demand information. A Q+ can be stored as a come-from-Q, acome-from-Q+ that is. In other words, it shows what search stats a userentered in order to arrive at a given question. And it can show whatsearch stats a user entered in order to get a given answer. For example,it can be valuable to know that 25% of people who bought the answer toBiography of Hans Bethe? included a search stat of Good reviews.

Now AC can keep statistics about what search stats were entered bypeople who arrived at a question in the Q-record of that question. AndAC can enable users to call these statistics up from a given Q-record.Seeing what A-stats were entered in the search of an answer can bevaluable demand information for suppliers. Let's pretend an answer is acertain kind of blender and that each buyer has to fill out aquestionnaire about why he bought. Now if 43% of buyers listed as areason for buying that the blender had gotten a good review in ConsumerReports, and 71% listed price as a reason, then that is valuableinformation. The same principle applies to answers.

Now no one buys anything for one reason. There are multiple factors andit can be useful to see which ones a given buyer lists. Using themetaphor above, it can be useful to see an individual questionnaire, aswell as the combined statistics from multiple questionnaires. Thus itcan also be valuable to enable users to call up the come-from-Q+'s of agiven question. That way users themselves can see the Q+'s that ledpeople to the question. And so, as an A-stats option, AC can enableusers to call up come-from-Q+'s. We picture a Q+ in FIG. 4.14 as athin-line circle 160.

5.1k Entering Multiple Questions to Correspond to a Single Answer

A user may want to enter more than one question to correspond to thesame answer. For example, a user who enters Who is Spiderman's alterego? might want to enter other similar questions, such as, In MarvelComics, who is Spiderman's alter ego? or, Who's the man behindSpiderman's mask?.

(If Rex enters the additional question(s), his purpose can be to find agood matching question. He may also want to let other Rex's find hisquestion in order to pool demand for the same answer. If Sue enters theadditional question(s), her purpose can be to enable Rex's to find theanswer that she puts in.)

Hence, AC can enable a user to designate that the next question to beentered corresponds to the same answer that the current-Q correspondsto. AC can include a command that might be labeled Synonym Questionwhich the user selects to designate that the next question entered is asynonym of the current-Q. As explained in Book II, AC can create adirect link between these questions called a synonym link. As seen inFIG. 4.15, it is also possible for AC to link the questions 170, 171,172 indirectly through the actual answer or missing answer 173.

5.1l Comparison Questions

AC can enable users to enter what we will call a comparison question(comp-Q). A comp-Q is shown along with the current-Q. It can become thecurrent-Q, if the user selects it to be.

AC can also enable the user to select a question on screen and designateit a comp-Q.

The purpose of the comp-Q, as the name implies, is to be compared withthe current-Q. For example,

-   the current-Q might be: What's causing this traffic jam?-   and the comp-Q might be: What's going on, goddamnit, on the Ten?.

AC can include a comp-Q button 119 that the user selects before enteringa Q-string. After pressing this button he enters a question just as heenters a question to be the new current-Q. The comp-Q is shown on screenand, as with a new current-Q, AC searches for a match.

AC can then show certain key match stats and A-stats about the comp-Q,or the user can ask to see these stats.

Upon seeing these, the user can then decide if he wants to make thecomp-Q the current-Q. If so, he can select it and enter Go.

Now if he is dissatisfied with the comp-Q, he can erase it and enteranother. As with the current Q, he can edit it and hit Enter after theediting. AC can also enable him to copy the current-Q into the comp-Qarea on screen and then edit the question to create the comp-Q.

The comp-Q option can be quite useful for it enables a user to easilycompare the key stats of two questions.

AC can also enable the user to link the current-Q and the comp-Q invarious ways, but we save this possibility for Book II.

Now in the matter of creating a Q-location for the comp-Q, AC does so bythe main rule of creation discussed above, even though the user mightnot go to the comp-Q. For example, if the user is a requestor and thequestion is new, AC still creates a location, complete with Q-record.However, what is registered in the Q-record may be different than whatis registered when the user goes to the question.

5.1m Auto-Questions

AC can include a type of question that when entered causes AC to createmore questions based on the information in the original question. Wecall questions that are created in this way auto-questions (auto-Q's).And we call a set of these questions an auto-set. A question that causesAC to create an auto-set is a seed question.

For example, say a user enters, Jim's phone number?. From this AC cancreate numerous questions about Jim: Jim's address?, Jim's age?, Jim'sjob?, and so on. AC creates a Q-record for each of the auto-questionsand for the auto-set altogether.

Now we assume that the user has designated a land where this firstquestion is a seed question. To enter a seed question, a user has toenter subject information into a given named field. The subjectinformation is used to create the auto-set. This is illustrated intables.

Tables

Tables of answers can be very useful to have in AC. A table can be madeup of answers entered to correspond to auto-sets. The key feature oftables in AC is a potential auto-set of questions, more convenientlythought of as a blank row. A blank row is made up of a set of blanknamed fields. For example:

Product     Store     Price    

A row will have at least one subject field. In the case above, we willsay that the subject field is the product field.

Once the subject field is filled in, it implies—and AC creates—anauto-set of actual questions. For example, if product field is filledin:

Walkman X Store     Price    we have a set of questions:

-   Where is a Walkman X sold? and-   What is the price of a Walkman X?.

Of course, more than one field can be filled in, which can make fordifferent questions. For example:

Walkman X Circuit City Price     Walkman X Luskins Price    are different questions:

-   What is the price of a Walkman X at Circuit City? and,-   What is the price of a Walkman X at Luskins?.

As more fields are added to a row, more individual questions arecreated. For example, if we add a phone number field above, we have thequestions:

-   What is the phone number of the Circuit City that sells Walkman X?-   What is the phone number of the Luskins that sells Walkman X?

Questions are defined by the information in a row that is missing fromblank fields and by the information that is present in filled fields.

In order to enter an answer, Sue can name the table or enter a seedquestion. AC then presents her with a blank row that she can enter heranswers into.

Though questions can look like answers—because they both can have thesame information—AC does not use the same table for questions andanswers. AC stores questions and answers distinctly from each other.

A Multitude of Questions

A multitude of questions can be used to search a table and process theanswers in a table to yield other answers. There are plain oldquestions, where answers are asked for and outputted by direct lookup,for example, finding the price of a given product. And there arefunction based questions (FB-Q's), for example, finding the five lowestprices in a list of prices. Regardless of the great variety ofparticular questions, they all use the same named fields as are in thetable.

AC creates Q-locations for all these questions, using the informationthat is filled into the fields. The rules of creation are the same asdiscussed before. (The creation of FB-Q Q-locations is discussed insection 5.4.)

(Note: Table structures and the meta-rules of their operation are set upby system operators. AC can also enable users to set up their owntables.)

5.1n Entering and Linking Questions

AC can enable questions to be entered and linked to one another. Thereare two categories of links which we'll call form links and named links.A question can be linked to others by form link and by named link.

Linking questions is a big topic because linking questions in certainways can provide solutions to the problems raised in the previouschapter. As noted, Book II is devoted to the linking of questions and sowe do not dwell on the topic here.

The main point to make now is that questions can correspond to eachother and not only to answers.

Entering Name Linked Questions

We have discussed form links above. The second type of link is what wecall a named link. Here a user can enter a question and link it to anexisting one with a link that is named to reflect the semanticrelationship between the two different question strings. For example, asynonym link means that the user considers two linked questions to besynonyms of each other. Named links are a broader category than formlinks. In fact, form links can be considered special cases of namedlinks.

Preview of What Will be Described in Book II

As discussed above in sub-section 5.1d on the matching of questions,there can be a profusion of potential matches to a given question. Howthen to match a question against existing questions?

The solution of Book II is a semantic-economic one, using links betweenquestions. We preview the solution here because we refer to linkedquestions throughout this chapter, and it is useful to have some contextas to how they are used. We use the small example of just two similarquestions:

-   1. Daneel Olivaw's phone number? and,-   2. R. Daneel Olivaw's phone number?.

As noted, AC enables users to link pairs of questions by naming thesemantic relationship between the questions involved. For example, auser might enter both of the questions above and link them with asynonym link. Or a user might enter one of these questions and AC mighttentatively match it to the other that, say, is already in the system.The user, seeing the tentative match, can then link the two questionswith a synonym link.

Assume then that both questions are in the system and are linked with asynonym link. And assume that a user arrives at Daneel Olivaw's phonenumber?. He can ask to see synonym questions. AC then shows him, R.Daneel Olivaw's phone number?. He can then travel to that question. Ateach question he travels to he can express interest in the answer.

Linked questions have their own separate demand records, but of greatimportance, the information in the demand records can be combined. Forexample, say that 7 people have landed on the first question and that 5people have landed on the second. There are 12 different arrivalrequests. Some of the same people who landed on the first question mightalso have landed on the second. And so a combined tally will not havethe value of 12 requests by 12 different people. We cannot give anyuniversal rules for how demand information is combined, but we dorecognize that it can be combined in useful ways.

Thus our “net” of two questions has a combined amount of demand. Aperson who might want to enter the answer to the first question knowsthat there may be extra demand from people who arrived at the secondquestion.

Let us say then that someone enters an answer to the first question.(She might also enter the same answer to the second, but we disregardthat possibility here.) Now, when someone is at the second question,which we assume has no answer, he can ask to see an answer to a synonymquestion. AC can then take him to the first question and show him thatthe first question has an answer. Or, AC might just output the answer tothe first question, depending on the output rules in that situation, andon what he has asked AC to do.

Now in this simple example, we have used the only two questions and sothe linking is simple. What if there were thousands of potential matchquestions. Would we connect them all to each other directly? If we didwe would not be solving our problem. We do not need to link them alldirectly but can do so indirectly. The links are a kind of match.

We then allow users to find questions and answers by traveling alonglinks or “jumping around” question nets. As users travel they canexpress demand for answers at different questions.

Now this idea alone will not work for we will have networks of linkedquestions but with no question having more matches (no greaterexpression of demand) than another in general. And so we add economicsignals. For example, we allow people to see which questions have moredemand than others. And we allow people to specify travel destinationsaccording to economic information, according to the most populardestinations, for example.

People can then intentionally pool demand on given questions. A questionmay be favored for no good reason initially, but people can join inbecause it pays to pool efforts rather than only express interest inone's own question. If the pay-off rises high enough, an answer may besupplied. This answer can then be found through linked questions.

Another thing that can happen is that no question may have much moredemand than another. Yet a supplier may enter an answer to a givenquestion, seeing the combined demand of a “net.” The answer can then befound through other, linked questions that make up that net.

Of course, the situations can get more complicated than this. The use ofdemand information as a specifier to find a question and/or answer isjust one example of the ways people can find questions and answers in aquestion net.

The point we make here is that we do not need to find the “best” matchfor a given question out of a large set of potential matches. “Bestmatch” is a mirage in most cases. If we link the questions in certainways and allow people to find the questions through the links in certainways, we can solve our matching problem well enough.

5.2 The Q-A Input Path, Entering and Storing Answers

There is one basic input path for entering and storing answers in AC. Wewill call it the Q-A input path. We say basic because while the detailsof entering answers may differ the essential idea remains: a question isidentified and an answer is entered to correspond directly to thatquestion in memory.

The details of the Q-A input path will vary depending on the land of ACand on the answer involved. For example, in certain lands, AC mightassume by default that Sue wants to supply an answer to the question shehas entered, simply because she has selected supply mode. The particularseries of steps for inputting a given answer can be called an inputstructure. Because answers vary greatly, input structures can varygreatly. For example, the steps for entering a phone number, an article,a blueprint, and a video tutorial will likely be different.

More importantly, the rules for storing answers can vary widelyregarding how the stored answers are found and sold.

Thus, “basic input path” refers to numerous variations on a singletheme.

5.2a The Q-A Input Path (Entering an Answer to Correspond Directly to aQuestion)

To enter an answer Sue must be at a question other than the nullquestion. She may have created the question in order to enter heranswer. Or she may have arrived at a question someone else has created.

Once she is at a question, she selects the option AC includes forentering an answer. Once she selects this Enter Answer option, ACenables her to enter an answer. She then enters an answer, and AC storesit and links it directly to the question in memory. We might also saythat AC stores the answer directly under the question.

This answer is a direct answer to the question. And the question is adirect question to the answer.

Direct answer in a sense is defined by the inverse operations of findingthe answer and getting the answer for output. We can think of adictionary where words are questions and definitions are answers. Adefinition can be found directly under a word; it corresponds directlyto the word. It is in this sense that we mean a direct linkage or directcorrespondence between a question and answer.

As we know from any dictionary, there can be many different definitionsstored under a word. In a conventional dictionary, definitions areordered.

Like a conventional dictionary, AC can have multiple answers for aquestion. However, unlike a conventional dictionary, AC's rules forpresenting answers can vary widely and are not usually a visualordering, as in a conventional dictionary. (Note: we use the term“conventional” dictionary because AC can be considered, among otherthings, a new, unconventional dictionary.)

We discuss the issue of multiple direct answers a little later below.For now our point is that an answer is stored under a question so that auser who arrives at the question can ask to get the direct answer.

For example, say a question is:

-   What is a two word weather report for the summer in Washington,    D.C.?    Sue arrives at this question. She then enters her answer: Hot,    Swampy.    Then when Rex arrives at the question, he can get the answer: Hot,    Swampy.

Let us make a few notes about terms. When we say that a question has ananswer, we mean that a direct answer has been supplied and stored forthat question. When we say that an answer is at a question, we mean thata direct answer has been supplied and stored for that question. When wesay that an answer is missing, we mean that no direct answer has beensupplied and stored for that question. When we say that a question has amissing answer, we mean that no direct answer has been supplied andstored for that question. Sometimes, we will use the terms direct actualanswer, and direct missing answer. Usually it should be clear from thecontext whether we are referring to an actual or a missing answer orboth.

5.2 b The Q-A-Record

To store Q-info (A-stats information) about Sue's actual answer, ACcreates a new record, which we call a Q-A-record. This record is asub-record of the Q-record.

We sometimes call the information in the Q-A-record by the nameQ-A-info. But this name can be misleading because the Q-A-record is asubset of the Q-record. So Q-A-info is also Q-info. We use the termQ-A-info because it is simpler than saying “Q-info about an actualanswer.”

Most all the A-stats that apply to a missing answer also apply to anactual answer. Thus much of the information registered for missinganswers is registered for actual answers as well. For example, theQ-A-record will have a demand record pertaining to Sue's actual answer.

However, numerous additional A-stats are registered about an actualanswer that cannot be registered about a missing answer, such the lengthof the answer, the price of the answer, sales of the answer, complaintsabout the answer, and so on.

Sometimes we will use the term actual-answer statistics (A-A-stats) torefer to A-stats that are registered about an actual answer. Usually welet the context dictate whether the A-stats are about all the answers toa question or mainly about a particular actual answer.

There are three main purposes for storing information about an actualanswer:

-   1. to describe the actual answer,-   2. to keep track of royalties owed, and-   3. to give information about potential other answers to the actual    answer's question.

It is because the Q-A-record is used to provide information aboutpotential answers that the Q-A-record is a sub-record of the Q-record.We elaborate on this point later.

Since one of the purposes of the Q-A-record is to store royaltyinformation for Sue's answer, the Q-A-record includes a credit recordwhere royalties are registered. The credit record may include citationinformation pertaining to answers that get a share of the royalties fromSue's answer. We discuss this point later as well.

When we say that A-A-stats describe an actual answer we mean it in twosenses. One, is user's point of view. They tell about the actual answer.The other is AC's point of view. The A-A-stats distinguish the actualanswer in memory from other actual answers to the same question. Why notthen call the Q-A-record just an actual answer record? Because, ananswer is not alone in AC. It corresponds to at least one question. And,information about it can indirectly tell about other answers.

How is information registered in the Q-A-record? Most information isregistered when users, especially Rex's, react to Sue's answer. (Howusers react to her answer depends on how it is presented. And there arevarious ways AC can present an answer. We will discuss this topic lateras well.) Some information is registered automatically when Sue entersher answer. Examples are Sue's ID data, the time of entry, and thelength of the answer. Other information can be entered by Sue. Wediscuss this kind of information next.

5.2c Entering Supply Stats

Certain A-stats (A-A-stats) can be entered by Sue along with her answerto describe the answer. When A-stats are used this way, we call themsupply stats. Examples of supply stats are the source of her answer,quality assertions about her answer, the price of her answer, and so on.

For example, she may supply the answer to the question,

-   Short Biography of Hans Bethe?.    As supply stat information, she might enter certain keywords, such    as physics great, Los Alamos, Cornell, Longest active career, etc.    Keywords are a small example of supply stats, but they illustrate    well that supply stats can describe various aspects particular to    Sue's answer.

To enter supply stats, Sue selects a command 120 that AC includes forsupply stats, and AC then presents her with a form for entering them.Or, AC automatically provides her with a supply stat form when sheenters an answer.

The supply stat form may be broken into many sub-forms: a form forprice, a form for quality assertions, a form for keywords, and so on.

AC stores the supply stats she enters in the Q-A-record for her answerand displays them when necessary. They are seen by others as A-A-statsfor her answer.

Depending on the rules of the land that Sue is in, she may be requiredto enter certain supply stats. For example, she may be required to set aprice for her answer.

(Note: Price can be considered a special kind of supply stat because itcan change and vary in many ways, more so than other supply stats ingeneral. Another thing that separates price from other supply stats isthat it involves transaction procedures, sales that is. Still, whileprice does have a special role, we put it in the category of supplystats because it does describe an actual answer, and because Sue canenter it. We explain the role of price more fully in Chapters 6 and 7.)

Supply stats are different from other A-stats in that they can, intheory, have been asked for in a Q-string. Unlike many kinds of A-stats,they describe aspects of answers that can be supplied by a user.

Sue can change supply stats. Price is the most obvious case, but otherstats are changeable as well. For example, Sue may change qualityassertions that she makes about her answer. In order to change thesupply stats, she must identify her answer, and press the supply statcommand. AC then presents her with the supply stat form which she canuse to change given supply stats.

5.2d A Q-A-Record is a Subset of a Q-Record

As noted above, one purpose for collecting Q-A-info is to create A-statsthat describe that answer. These can enable Rex to decide whether hewants to buy the answer. They are product information. The A-stats alsoenable Sue to monitor her answer. Through A-stats, she sees reaction toher answer. She may then decide to change it in some way, or to changethe price. Of course, A-stats also enable AC to differentiate betweenmultiple direct actual answers to the same question.

While these purposes for gathering Q-A-info are obviously essential,there is another essential purpose: to provide information for helpingusers decide whether to enter another answer to the question (forexample, an improved answer).

Thus the demand information in the Q-A-record does not just apply to theactual answer. It also applies to potential answers. It applies toanswers that might replace the actual answer. It applies to answers thatmight improve on the actual answer. It applies to answers that might becompletely different from the actual answer.

Demand information is not the only Q-A-info that is useful for apotential supplier to know. She must answer two key questions about apotential answer:

-   1. What answer should I supply? and-   2. How much will I get for supplying it?

AC can provide a POE for telling her what she might get, but AC cannottell her what answer to supply. This she needs to figure out from commonsense. Seeing A-stats (e.g., quality control comments) about an actualanswer and seeing the actual answer itself can obviously help her makeguesses about these two questions.

We see this principle with most any physical product, of course. Thesales of a product give us the best clues about what the sales ofsimilar products will be. And the product itself gives clues as to whatan improved product should be like.

Information gathered about a single actual answer is not the onlyinformation that is relevant to deciding whether to enter an anotheranswer to the direct question. First of all, there is information thatwas gathered before any actual answer was supplied. Second of all, theremay be multiple direct answers supplied. Q-A-info from all these iscollected in the master record, the Q-record. Third of all, even when ananswer is supplied to a question, AC may not initially present thatanswer to a user who arrives at the question, and may not initiallyregister information in the Q-A-record. AC may only register informationin the Q-record. Thus, while a Q-A-record is differentiated within itsQ-record, it is just part of the combined set of information in theQ-record that enables users to evaluate potential new answers.

(Note: The exception to this rule occurs when Sue enters a question andanswer and no other direct answer has been entered. Then the onlyinformation that is registered may be about that actual answer. Asmentioned, what is registered depends on how AC presents the answer andhow AC registers information in the Q-record and Q-A-record.)

We can see why a Q-A-record is a subset of a Q-record by taking theexample question: What is today's weather report?.

Assume that there are 10 requests for the missing answer to thisquestion.

Now assume someone supplies an answer, and assume that there are 10 morerequests from different people. And so we have a total of 20 requestsfor the answer, half when it was missing and half when it is present.The combined tally may help make a more accurate POE for a potentialupdated answer than one of the tallies alone.

Demand for today's actual weather report might apply to demand fortomorrow's potential weather report. And the demand for the past 100actual weather reports might apply to the demand for tomorrow's weatherreport. Each past report is a distinct answer to the direct question,while tomorrow's potential report can have a POE based on the sales ofthe past reports. The demand records of all the past reports arecombined in the Q-record.

As shown in FIG. 4.16, when we picture an actual answer 180 beingsupplied to a question 181, we show a Q-A-record 182 along with theactual answer. We also show the Q-record 183, for it is the masterrecord. And we also show a blank box 184 signifying a missing, potentialanswer. A potential answer always exists.

(Unfortunately, the idea that the Q-A-record is a sub-record does notcome out well in the figure because the Q-A-record looks totallyseparate from the Q-record. Later we will introduce the idea of aQ-A-location. So the figure is a compromise.)

Now it is easy to say that the Q-A-record is a subset of the Q-record,but what does that mean? How is the information used? Well, we cannotsay. The best we can say here is that it is combined. The ways it can becombined and used are far too various to describe, or even know muchabout. There is little experience in this area.

As discussed above, the key questions that Sue wants to answer forherself are: 1) What answer should I supply? and 2) How much will I getfor supplying it? (There are many other things Sue may want to find outabout, such as what price she should set for her answer, but the two keyquestions are the ones above.)

We cannot say much more than that the Q-A-record is a subset of theQ-record because we cannot say much about how the combined informationwill be used to make guesses about these two questions. That is becausethere is far too much variety in potential answers to a given question,and far too much variety in the way answers can be sold, and far toomuch variety in the way royalties can be shared. We will take up theseissues briefly next.

5.2e The Endless Answers Problem Revisited

When we consider how AC might enable users to enter more than one directanswer to a question, we run right into the endless answers problem.Endless answers reality is another term for it. The reality is: If wetake a question and supply an answer, we find that endless other answerscan also satisfy the question.

There are numerous sub-problems posed by this reality. We have discussedsome of them in Chapter 4, especially those regarding the collection ofdemand information. Regarding the storing of more than one directanswer, the problems posed are:

-   a. How to present an answer for sale?-   b. How to assign royalty credit when it is sold?    That's because, in AC, a storage procedure for an answer is defined    in terms of how the answer is found, and sold, and credited with    royalties.

For example, if there are 2,000 answers to the question, Movie Review ofCasablanca?, how is AC to present them to Rex?

And let us say that many of the answers borrow from other answers. Howthen is royalty credit to be split, given paraphrasing and perhapsverbatim copying?

Let us give some example questions to see the problems. We will justgive questions and imagine that someone has already supplied an initialanswer.

-   What is Today's Weather?

Now, what if someone enters an “updated” weather report that changesjust a few facts? How shall we give credit to the first answer? What ifthe updated report is very different, a “new” weather report?

-   How High is Longs Peak?

Now what if someone enters a “corrected” figure? What if there is adebate on the definition of height? What if there are hundreds ofmeasurements?

-   What is the Price of Walkman X?

Now what if someone enters the same price as the initial price? Thesecond price might be considered a useless repeat of the first, but thenwe might also call it a valuable confirmation.

-   What's a Photo of Old Faithful?

Now let's say someone provides a second photo which many people preferto the first photo? Should the first photographer be paid? What if thesecond photo isn't that much different from the first? What if it isvery different? Of course we don't know what different means in anydefinite sense, so that poses a problem in deciding what to do.

-   Short Biography of Hans Bethe?

Now what if someone enters a second biography that adds to but does notchange the first? What if the new biography only differs in that itcorrects some mistaken footnotes in the first biography? What if the newbiography is a translation? What share of royalties should thetranslator get paid?

-   How do you get to Chicago Fastest from Washington, D.C., by Car?

What if someone enters an answer that copies the first but changes ajust a 5 mile stretch going into Chicago? What if the two answers shareonly one road?

These examples are a very meager selection. For most any question onecan think of a fantastic variety of different kinds of answers. We havenot even discussed the difference in efforts to arrive at differentanswers, or ways of evaluating how much people care about thedifferences.

We know so little about classifying the differences between answers, andwe know so little about paying for improvements, that we certainlycannot say at this time what are the best ways to present and givecredit to answers. There are no universal rules that hold. Yet, we cansay that AC requires certain kinds of rules and functions for any schemeof enabling users to enter more than one answer to a question.

Before, discussing these, we should mention that users can enter answersunder different questions rather than under the same question. Usingdifferent questions is a fundamental way of differentiating answers.This does not completely solve our problem, for the basic issues remain:how to present the answers and how to credit answers. Moreover, we stillneed rules for how more than one answer can be supplied to a givenquestion, because even when we use different questions, we still need toaccommodate the possibility of a better answer to a given question.Generally, it will not work to reserve for eternity one answer to agiven question.

5.2e Rules and Functions for Storing Multiple Answers to a Question

There are numerous ways AC can store multiple direct answers to aquestion. The variety comes from the various kinds of rules there can befor presenting the answers and for crediting the answers with royalties.While we cannot give any specific rules, we can say that AC requiresfour kinds of rules and functions.

(Note: When we say rules, we mean both meta rules that users understandand internal system rules that are required for implementing the metarules. Often we call internal rules functions because they involve setsof steps for carrying out the meta rules.)

1. A Second Rule of Creation, Creating a Q-A-Record

AC creates a Q-A-record for each actual answer supplied. This rule wasdiscussed above. We may call it the second rule of creation, in contrastwith the main rule of creation, which is to create a Q-record for anynew question. Thus, different actual answers to the same direct questionare all stored under that question and are differentiated by theirA-A-stats. (Another way of looking at the situation is that AC creates aQ-A-location for each answer. We discuss this idea later.)

(Now, in certain cases, where changes are made to an answer, AC may notcreate an entirely new record, but that is not really to the point. Wewill assume that AC creates a new Q-A-record whenever Sue changes thecontent of an answer.)

2. Copy/Credit Rules

If Sue uses another answer in her answer, which can happen in a greatvariety of ways, then AC needs rules for enabling Sue to give royaltycredit to that other answer. These rules are also discussed in Chapter14 on property rights.

Copy/credit rules illustrate how AC operates by meta rules and internalrules. By meta rules here we mean rules that tell Sue when to givecredit to other answers. By internal rules we mean functions that AC hasfor enabling Sue to enter citation information and functions forautomatically crediting another answer with a share of Sue's royalties,when Sue's answer is sold.

For example, if Sue uses a long quote in her answer, then she may haveto assign a share of her royalties to the owner of the quote. It is byAC's guidelines for the sharing of credit that Sue understands what todo. It is by AC's credit functions that the royalty payments aretransacted.

Copy/credit rules are the hidden regulators of the answers that aresupplied to AC. Why is that? Because a person will enter an answer basedupon how much she thinks she will make when it is sold. How much shewill make depends on how much she has to pay to other answers and on howmuch people who copy her answer will have to pay her.

Thus, AC's rules for defining copying are fundamental aspects of thesystem. One hesitates to call them part of the system in that they arealmost always meta rules. But still, they are fundamental in determiningwhat answers get entered.

When we say copy we do not mean in the narrow sense of a copyrightinfringement, we are thinking more in terms of patent infringement, andyet we are thinking of more. It is an area that needs exploration. Weneed to discover better rules for paying for improved answers, whilegiving enough credit to the original answers that the improvements arebased on (see Chapters 8 and 14).

We cannot give any rules and say only that experimentation seems to bethe best policy.

In some cases, AC can have “what the market will bear” rules in whichSue's answer is compared to another answer. Rex can choose between twoanswers and explicitly pay for a given improvement. For many reasons,such a scheme is hard to execute and there is no time to go into theproblems involved.

3. Challenge Rules and Functions

AC's meta rules are rules that users need to follow in order for thesystem to work. For example, Sue may be expected to properly cite agiven answer as deserving a share of the royalties that her answer gets.The meta rules tell her when to do this.

Where meta rules are concerned, there must be ways for determiningwhether users have violated the rules. There can obviously be disputes,for money is involved. And so, AC needs means for enabling users toalert system judges to problems. And AC needs means to allow systemjudges to rule on matters.

AC has its traffic rules; it's right of way rules, so to speak. Insteadof police roaming the streets, users themselves spot infractions. Theycan complain to system judges. Unlike many traffic situations on thestreets, evidence is available and can be evaluated. In other words, ACneeds rules and functions that enable users to challenge the actions ofother users. This is especially evident where users supply competinganswers.

These points, of course, apply to any meta rules and not just thoseinvolving the supplying of answers. The need for challenging proceduresis discussed in various places, especially in Chapter 14.

4. Show and Sell Rules

If more than one direct answer can be supplied to a question, AC musthave rules for how the answers are shown when a user arrives at aquestion, and rules for which answer is sold when the user requests onefor output.

(When we say that an answer is shown, we mean that A-A-stats for theanswer are shown. When we say that an answer is sold, we mean that it isoutputted.)

To repeat a previous point, these rules are part of storage rules,because how an answer is shown and sold is part of how it is stored.While the name does not seem to have anything to do with storage, wewill call these rules show and sell rules.

The importance of show and sell rules in AC can be seen by analogy whenwe think of a printed product catalogue. In a catalogue for, say, officesupplies we see headings for various kinds of products. Under a headingfor Pens there might be descriptions of a dozen different kinds ofparticular pens. Obviously, it is crucial to the sales of a given kindof pen how the pens are displayed, and more important, whether they areshown at all in the catalogue. We can presume that many manufacturesmight want to get their pens in the catalogue but cannot because of thecatalogue company's show and sell rules.

AC is different than a static print catalogue of course, but the problemof presenting choices remains. While AC can show partial A-stats formore than one answer at a time, the number of answers whose A-stats canbe shown at once is severely limited. Thus AC needs rules for selectingwhich answer(s) to show A-stats about.

AC also needs selection rules for which answer to output. (AC can outputmore than one answer at a time, but for simplicity, we will assume thatonly one answer is outputted per output request.) The user may choosethe answer, or AC may choose the answer. When AC chooses the actualanswer, then AC obviously needs rules for selecting the answer out of aset of possible answers.

While show and sell rules mean selection rules that apply to directanswers already in AC, they can also mean rules for restricting whatanswers are allowed to be stored for a given question. In other words,show and sell rules can include meta rules that define a satisfactoryanswer to a given question. Let us discuss this point briefly because itis a basic way of handling the endless answer problem.

One way to handle the endless answer problem is to narrowly restrict themeaning of questions. By tightly restricting definitions, users can havea good chance of knowing what answer to expect and what answer tosupply. That does not mean that only one answer satisfies a givenquestion, but that any answer entered has to match the conditions of themeta rules. For example, a rule in certain lands can be that an answerhas to be true. Sometimes AC can judge whether a condition has been met.For example, a rule can be that an answer has to be under 100 wordslong. AC can judge whether this condition is met. Other times, as with arule about the truth of an answer, AC cannot judge; and so AC enablesusers to file complaints about answers with a system judge. The judgemay then rule that an answer is unsatisfactory and may penalize thesupplier or take various other actions, such as allowing a differentanswer to replace the offending one.

As noted, AC can include numerous lands where different meta rules applyand where the same questions mean different things. Say questions arenames. One land might then be a phone directory where each namecorresponds to a phone number. Another might be an encyclopedia whereeach name corresponds to a subject. Another might be a geographicallocator where each name corresponds to a GPS number. And so on.

Now rules for defining the boundaries of answers to a given questionneed not be highly restrictive. But highly restrictive conditions arenecessary when questions are not linked to one another. If definitionsare not restricted—so that users can have a good idea of what answer toexpect—then the endless answers reality will swamp the system because noone will have a good guess as to what answer to expect, or what answerto supply, to a question.

Aside: Avoiding Many Constraining Rules by Linking Questions

As described in Book II, many of the problems caused by the endlessanswer reality can be greatly ameliorated by linking questions incertain ways. By doing this we can input and output as many answers aswe want, but they will correspond indirectly to a given question. Weseparate the answers by giving them different question-labels butconnect the question labels so that an answer can be found from morethan one question. Though certain meta rules remain, they do not reallylimit the number and kind of answers that can be entered to correspondindirectly to a question.

However, as noted, storing answers under different questions does notsolve all our problems. Thus, show and sell rules also apply to directanswers to linked questions.

What's Next

We will now discuss two general approaches to storing multiple answersto a question. These are just approaches, with no specific rulesattached to them. One we call the unlimited answers approach. The otherwe call the current answer approach. In a sense they represent two polesof a spectrum of ways that multiple direct answers can be stored. Oneway is sort of a free for all. The other way is restrictive. In betweenthese two approaches are countless others that vary according to theparticular rules used to show and sell answers.

After discussing these two approaches, we will explain a general methodfor making comparisons between direct answers to the same question.

In all approaches, a central element is a Q-A-location, so we discussthat first.

5.2f Q-A-Location

Another way of saying that AC creates a Q-A-record is to say that ACcreates a Q-A-location. By this we mean that AC creates a record andenables users to access (interact with) this record, just as aQ-location means both a Q-record and that AC enables the user to accessthe Q-record.

The term location here can be confusing though because the Q-A-locationis not separate from the Q-location. A Q-A-record, as noted, is part ofthe Q-record. Thus a Q-A-location is part of the Q-location.

Recall, a Q-location is made up of a question and a Q-record. WhenQ-record information is shown on the Q-display, we say that the user isat a Q-location. The Q-display shows options pertaining to thatQ-location.

The Q-display also includes options for accessing a given Q-A-record,and for getting the actual answer that the Q-A-record corresponds to.When the Q-display options apply to a particular Q-A-record, we say thatthe user is at a Q-A-location. We can also use the term currentQ-A-location.

Thus the Q-A-location is both a distinct location in memory and part ofthe Q-location. If we think of the Q-location as an area, we can thinkof a Q-A-location as an sub-area within the area. But this picture isn'tvery good because the sub-area leads to an actual answer, which isn'tvery clear visually. As a better picture, we might think of a questionas a potentially vast, multiplex movie theater and a Q-A-location as atheater within this multiplex. The theater shows a movie, an actualanswer. Outside this theater a patron can see various information aboutthe movie and then decide whether or not to pay for and see the movie.But this picture is not that good either. It falls short because AC maytake a patron right into the movie without stopping in the “lobby” tosee Q-A-info. Let us just realize that a Q-A-location is a new thingthat is hard to compare to existing things. It is a sub-record of aQ-record, and its subject is an actual answer.

When we say that AC finds or matches a Q-A-location, we mean that ACmatches a Q-A-record. When we say that a user arrives at a Q-A-location,we mean that AC presents him with options for accessing the Q-A-record,and for getting the corresponding actual answer. A user does not so muchgo to a Q-A-location as a given Q-A-location is presented to him as partof the larger Q-location.

When a user arrives at a Q-A-location he sees A-A-stats for an actualanswer. He can “react” to the answer, for example by making an offer forthe answer, or entering a complaint about the answer. In other words,when a user is at a Q-A-location, AC registers information in thatactual answer's Q-A-record.

When a user is at a Q-A-location, he is still at the Q-location, and soinformation is still registered in the Q-record. AC still shows optionsthat pertain to the current-Q, and to potential answers, and to findingother Q-A-records, if any, that are at that Q-location.

Thus, the term location is a bit confusing for the process by which ACcreates a record for an actual answer and allows users to access thatrecord, while the users are at a larger record, the Q-record. Still, weuse the term location because it is convenient to think of a user goingto a record. We can then think of the linking of records, for examplethe linking of Q-A-records, of Q-A-locations. We can think of a usergoing to a given Q-A-location to see A-A-stats about a given actualanswer.

How does a user arrive at a Q-A-location then? That depends on AC's showand sell rules, which we are going to discuss further below.

First let us discuss what we mean by being at an actual answer. We donot think of an actual answer as having its own location. We might saythat there is an actual answer location, but in fact, when an answer isoutputted, the user is still at the Q-A-location for that answer. Thatis because AC can still register information about the actual answer andcan still output information about the actual answer from theQ-A-record. So, the actual answer is directly connected to theQ-A-location. It is never entirely alone; it must have a Q-A-record thatgoes along with it.

However, we should distinguish between being at a Q-A-location and notseeing the actual answer, and being at a Q-A-location and seeing theactual answer. Perhaps we should say that when an answer is shown thatmeans that the user is at the actual answer location. Instead, we willjust say that an answer is outputted or seen. That will mean that theuser is at the actual answer, and that the user is simultaneously at theQ-A-location for that answer.

Now let us return to the topic of how a user gets to a Q-A-location.

5.2g The Unlimited Answers Approach

When the unlimited answers approach is employed, Sue arrives at aquestion and enters her answer. AC creates a Q-A-record for it. TheQ-A-record is differentiated from other Q-A-records by the A-A-stats forSue's answer. We picture this in FIG. 4.17 where a question 185 has fouractual answers 186 and Q-A-records 187.

What characterizes the unlimited answers approach is the ways usersarrive at a Q-A-location, the ways an actual answer is presented, inother words. The main idea is that no location is preferred overanother, at least not at the time of storage. Given AC's matching rules,and given the various search instructions entered by users, there willbe Q-A-locations that are preferred, but we cannot say which ones inadvance. (This is in contrast to the current answer method below where asingle answer is preferred.) There are two general ways that users canarrive at Q-A-locations given the unlimited answers approach.

1. Arriving at a Question That has No Q-A-Location Showing Initially

AC can enable the user to arrive at a question and AC can show noQ-A-location initially. In other words, AC does not show any A-statsfrom any Q-A-record. AC instead enables the user to enter a command forscrolling through the Q-A-records at that question. Alternatively, ACcan enable the user to enter further search stats to specify aQ-A-location that AC can then match and present.

For example, say that the question Rex arrives at is Short Bio ofBethe?. And say that there are 100 direct answers to this question. Sayalso that Rex enters a search stat of 5 cents. AC will then take Rex toa Q-A-location for a bio that costs 5 cents. Of course, AC may needother search stats in order to narrow down the selection to oneQ-A-location. AC may will also have defaults for taking users to givenQ-A-locations. For example, one default may be that AC takes the user tothe more popular of two given Q-A-locations (of course, popularity canbe defined in various ways, and we are just giving an example). It alldepends on AC's matching rules.

2. Arriving at a Q-A-Location Initially

The second way that a user can arrive at a Q-A-location is for AC totake him to the Q-A-location that best matches the question or Q+ thatthe user has entered. In other words, AC matches questions and Q+'sagainst Q-A-locations and picks the best one it can find at thatquestion. AC can present more than one match at a time. And AC enablesthe user to use the options for finding another Q-A-location. The onlydifference from above is that AC does present a Q-A-location initially.Of course, there must be a Q-A-location at the question in order forthis to happen.

Automated Output

When Rex asks AC to pick an actual answer to output, AC chooses the bestmatching Q-A-location it can find. However, it may not find one becausethere may be no Q-A-records with adequately matching A-A-stats (see5.3c).

5.2h The Current Answer Approach

The idea behind the current answer approach is simple: when a userarrives at a question, AC defaults to showing him A-stats about oneanswer out of a set of possible direct answers. We call this favoredanswer the current answer.

The current answer is defined by meta rules which we call displacementrules. When Sue enters an answer to a question that already has acurrent answer, her answer is allowed to become the current answer if itmeets the displacement rules. In other words, meta rules define whatanswers can displace the current answer. If there is no existing currentanswer, Sue's answer becomes the current answer.

Displacement rules can vary widely. The idea is that they are designedso that a displacing answer is deemed “better” than the answer itdisplaces. Though better is very vague, it gets the idea across. Asimple example of a displacement rule is that the current answer shouldbe correct. If it is not correct, it can be displaced. For example, if aprice is out of date, a new, correct price can become the currentanswer.

Now AC cannot know about conditions in the real world and so Sue mustsay whether her answer deserves to be the current answer according tothe meta rules. AC assumes she is right, while allowing others tochallenge her judgment.

Sue enters a new answer by pressing a New Current Answer command that ACincludes for enabling her to enter an answer. After she enters heranswer, AC makes it the current answer, and the displaced answer becomesa past answer. (AC can alert the supplier of the displaced answer, whomay want to challenge the displacement.)

The current answer approach is an important way of restricting theanswers that can be stored for a question. The approach can be used toenable a given Sue to “reserve” an interpretation of the question forher answer, blocking out various other interpretations. That does notmean that a single answer fits the question but that only a “better”version should fit (we have not escaped the endless answer reality, onlynarrowed interpretations).

For example, assume that the current answer can only be displaced if itis found incorrect. Then, if a user desires to enter an answer to aquestion that already has a correct answer, the user has to enter theanswer under another question. For example, if Sue intends to supply theanswer to Russell Marker's phone number?, and there already is a correctphone number in AC for that question, Sue would have to enter adifferent question, though one that still describes her answer. Shemight enter, Russell E. Marker's phone number? (presuming of course thatthe Russell she has in mind has the middle initial of E) to store heranswer under.

So the first Sue who entered the phone number for Russell Marker“reserved” the meaning of Russell Marker as referring to a particularRussell Marker. The new Sue who wanted to use that question has to pickanother question, Russell E. Marker? That's because her answer was nobetter than the first Sue's answer. We might say that they are equallyvalid. And so the first answer remains undisplaced.

Thus, by the current answer approach (as shown in FIG. 4.18):

-   Sue arrives at a question 190 and presses Enter Current Answer,-   she enters her answer 191,    AC stores her answer and creates a Q-A-record 192 (a Q-A-location)    for it which AC makes the Q-A-location that people see when they    arrive at the question.

The previous current answer becomes a past answer 193, whose Q-A-record194 remains and differentiates it from other past answers and thecurrent answer.

Past Answers

Past answers have their own Q-A-locations, differentiated by theA-A-stats that are particular to their Q-A-records. When a user arrivesat the Q-A-location for the current answer, AC can enable him to enter aSee Past Answer command for seeing Q-A-locations of past answers. AC canthen enable him to scroll through A-A-stats for particular past answers.Or AC may enable him to enter search stats for finding a given pastanswer Q-A-location.

Therefore, even though a question has a current answer, users can stillfind past answer Q-A-locations, and can transact business there as well.

How many past answers should be kept is a design decision. To limit thenumber kept, AC can charge Sue a storage fee for keeping her past answeror can keep only those that generate enough revenue to justify theirstorage.

5.2i Labeling the Differences Between Two Direct Answers to the SameQuestion

In many cases, when Sue wants to enter an answer, what she wants to dois change or improve on an existing direct answer. There can be so manyways that Sue can “change” or “improve on” an answer that these wordscannot get the possibilities across. Instead let us just say that Sue'sanswer is different from a given answer.

Now Sue may want to point out how her new answer differs from anexisting answer. And AC may, in certain cases, require her to do so.

(In Book II, we will discuss how AC can enable Sue to name therelationship between answers that correspond directly to differentquestions. Here we are not concerned with that. We are concerned withhow Sue can express the relationship between two direct answers to thesame question.)

We give a method below that AC includes to enable Sue to express thedifference between her answer and an existing answer to the same directquestion. While there can be great variety in the details of thismethod, it is just a small variation of the basic input path. Thedifference is that, rather than arriving at just a Q-location, Suearrives at a Q-A-location for the answer that she wants to compare heranswer to. AC then enables her to describe the relationship between thatanswer and her new, different answer. Thus:

-   1. Sue arrives at the Q-A-location of the answer she wants to    compare her answer to.-   2. She presses a Change command that AC includes to enable her to    signify that her new answer has a relationship with the answer at    the current Q-A-location.-   3. AC enables her to enter her answer. She enters her answer. AC    stores it under the question she is at and creates a new    Q-A-location for it.-   4. AC takes her to the new Q-A-location. AC presents her with a form    for entering a description of the difference between the answer she    has entered and the answer at the previous Q-A-location she was at.-   5. She enters a description of the difference.    -   a. Her description can be taken from a list of standard        descriptions that AC includes, for example: update, improve, add        to, validate, more complete answer.    -   b. AC can enable her to enter a description in her own words in        which she compares her answer to the answer at the previous        Q-A-location.-   6. AC stores her comparison as an A-stats for both answers. In the    new answer's Q-A-record, AC tells which answer the comparison refers    to. For example AC might store, “an update of the answer with so and    so A-stats.” In the Q-A-record of this other answer, AC also stores    the comparison and tells which the new answer is. For example,    “updated by the answer with so and so A-stats.”

In addition, AC can create links between two Q-A-records, as shown inFIGS. 4.19 and 4.20. By links we mean that when a user is at one of theQ-A-locations 195, 197 he can travel on the link to the other 196, 198.

Answer History

Using the method above AC can keep a history of “changes” that have beenmade to an actual answer. The history is a chain of differences recordedin the Q-A-records of each answer in that chain. This is especiallyappropriate where the current answer approach is employed. Thus if thecurrent answer has displaced another answer, the current answer can havean A-stats indicating what change was made. Each answer then, except thefirst, has a record of how it differs from the answer it has displaced.

Insert/Delete Option

AC can also include a command that enables Sue to edit an existinganswer. She presses this Edit Answer command, and AC enables her to editthe answer of the Q-A-location she is at. As above, AC still creates anew Q-A-record for her edited answer. In this case, AC also saves theinsertions and deletions she has made, so that there is a record of thechange. The record can be kept as an A-stats in the Q-A-record of herrevised answer.

Alerting the Original Supplier

When Sue wants to compare her answer to an existing answer by the methodabove, AC can automatically alert the supplier of that existing answer.The supplier may object to the comparison. The two suppliers maycommunicate about whether the comparison is appropriate. Also, Sue maywant to contact the original supplier in order to get permission to makea comparison or to consult about a comparison.

Note on Quality Control Labels

One way that any user can “change” an answer is not by changing thecontent of the answer but making quality comments about it. Thesecomments can be crucial. For example, a comment might say, “Out of Date”or “Incorrect.” Of course there can be far more detailed reviews of ananswer.

For now, the point is that answers can be substantially changed withoutactually changing their “content.” A separate Q-A-record is not made inthis case. Instead a comment is entered into the Q-A-record for theanswer that is commented on.

Quality control labels (comments are one kind of label) can be veryimportant A-A-stats (see chapter 13).

5.2j Brief Digression: What About the POE?

If there are multiple direct answers to a question, then how is a personto evaluate the POE for a new answer to the question. For example, ifthe question is Movie Review of Casablanca?, and there are alreadyseveral reviews supplied, how is a potential supplier to decide what thePOE is for a another review?

Of course, we cannot say generally. In this section what we havedescribed are ways that AC can enable users to store multiple answers tocorrespond directly to a given question. The endless variety ofpotential answers remains.

Questions do not identify single answers and so a given Q-record andQ-A-record do not apply to only one answer. The records do not evenapply just to answers that can be stored for their question. They applyto a slew of “similar” answers that can be stored under a slew of“similar” questions.

By the same reasoning, multiple Q-records can apply to the answer thatSue is considering entering for a given question.

Thus, Q-records can be linked so that users can make guesses about thedemand for a given actual answer that might satisfy Rex's who haveentered different questions. In other words, multiple Q-records,especially demand records, can be combined to yield combined demand foran answer. We then have demand based on a question net, but this demandstill must be collected at individual questions.

When we think of question nets, which obviously have many differingquestions, we can see that evaluating the demand collected in oneQ-record is not necessarily the point. And whether one or more answershave already been supplied to a given question is not necessarily thepoint. There may be many alternative answers to consider, and they maybe stored under different questions.

Why even have a demand record for a given question if it does not applyto a single answer? Well, questions are the only way we can identifyanswers. So we use them, while realizing their limits. Demandinformation stored under a given question many not apply to a singleanswer, but it can still help a potential supplier decide whether it isworthwhile to enter a given, actual answer.

How a user evaluates the demand information depends on the situation.The alternative answers that have been supplied to the current-Qobviously are a factor to consider. So are answers that have beensupplied to similar questions. There are a host of factors to consider.They not only include considerations of what a question means but alsoof AC's rules, like show and sell rules and copy/credit rules.

A user must use common sense. But without AC's A-stats, especiallydemand information, common sense is blind.

5.2k Entering an Answer to Correspond Directly to Multiple Questions

As discussed in 5.1k, AC can enable users to enter more than one directquestion to correspond to the same answer. We should note briefly, yetsignificantly, that when AC stores an answer to correspond to one ofthese questions, it can store the answer to correspond to the otherquestions as well. AC may have the user press a command for this tohappen, or AC may do it automatically.

We leave aside this matter until section 5.5 where we discuss commonQ-records.

5.2l Questions That Correspond to Answers with Multiple Parts

AC can include a type of question that allows multiple users tocontribute sub-answers (sub-A's) to make up a “larger” answer. We willcall this type of question a combo-Q and this larger answer a combo-A.

With combo-Q's the Q-A input path again remains essentially the same.However, AC requires procedures for putting together the sub-A's foroutput. In addition, AC needs to store each sub-A as a discrete entitythat is tagged by Sue's ID data, so that she can be credited when hersub-answer is outputted. (Of course, AC requires royalty rules fordefining how much credit each sub-answer gets.)

A sub-A corresponds directly to the combo-Q in memory and is entered inthe same way as a single answer: Sue enters the combo-Q and then entersthe sub-A. For example, say Rex enters, What are the major steelcompanies in the US.?, and designates this as a combo-Q. Then variousSues can arrive at the question and enter the names of different steelcompanies. Each entry is a sub-A and the full list can be outputted. Thelist can continue to grow and be updated.

As another example, say a certain Sue enters, What's the news inAngola?, and designates it as a combo-Q. Subsequent Sues can thencontribute their accounts, which can be differentiated in various ways,such as by time of entry and by author.

A combo-Q can be seen as a question where the unlimited answers approachapplies and where the multiple direct answers under that question areoutputted together. However, by having a special category of combo-Q's,AC can enable particular rules to apply that would not normally applywith plain old questions. The particular rules concern making it easyfor people to enter answers to be combined with other answers. Such ruleinclude copy/credit rules and presentation rules. We cannot give anyparticular rules but just say that when answers are to meant to becombined that different rules will apply than apply for plain oldquestions.

Combo-Q's as Linked Questions

It is important to note that the sub-A's to a combo-Q can bedifferentiated by their own sub-questions. For example,

-   the combo-Q might be: What's the news in Angola?,-   a sub-Q might then be: What's the situation with unexploded mines as    of Jun. 6, 1996?-   another sub-Q might be: Dispatches by Flynn?    If sub-questions are included in the scheme, a combo-Q is really a    kind of name linked question where the sub-Q's are linked to the    combo Q. A sub-A is then a “full” answer to its sub-Q, while it is    also a sub-A to the combo-Q.

5.2m The Q-A Input Path for Linked Questions

Regardless of whether a question is linked to another or not, the basicQ-A input path applies: Sue arrives at a question, and then enters ananswer, and AC stores the answer to correspond directly to the question.She may have gotten to the question by traveling through otherquestions, but that is beside the point.

When a first question is linked to a second question and the secondquestion has a direct answer, we call the answer an indirect answer tothe first question. And we call the first question an indirect questionto the answer.

5.2n Addendum: Invisible Test-Answers

As discussed in 5.1c, users may enter questions, Q-locations, just totest demand. We now consider a feature AC can include for enabling usersto test demand for actual answers, rather than just answers representedby questions. In other words, we discuss how AC can enable Sue to createa fake Q-A-location for testing demand.

Now when Sue enters an answer she creates a Q-A-location. The responseof Rex's is then tested as demand information is collected at thisQ-A-location. The problem is that it is only tested with one set ofA-A-stats, the set a that applies to her real, actual answer. If Suesets a price for her answer, for example, then she only sees what thedemand for her answer is at that price.

She may also want to see, hypothetically, who would have bought heractual answer if certain A-A-stats were different, such as productreviews and price. Thus AC can include a Test Answer command forenabling her to enter fake, hypothetical A-A-stats along with her answerto create an extra, invisible Q-A-location.

When we say invisible, we mean that Rex's do not arrive at theQ-A-location, but that AC still collects certain kinds of demandinformation. In particular, AC registers how may times the answer wouldhave been outputted by the MMA path (see 5.3) based on the hypotheticalQ-A-location.

To take a simple example, Sue can enter an answer and set a price of $5.She might also want to test demand at $2. So she presses Test Answer,and AC enables her to enter hypothetical A-A-stats to describe heranswer. The A-stats can be supply stats and also A-stats that normallyshe cannot supply. In this example case she would enter a supply stat of$2 rather than the real, visible $5.

Sue need not even have entered an actual answer. AC can enable her toenter just hypothetical A-A-stats. She can thus do market research basedon a completely hypothetical actual answer that is described by theinvisible, fake A-A-stats.

5.3 The Main Paths for Outputting Answers

While there is one basic path for getting answers into AC, there areinnumerable paths for getting them out and using them, especially if weconsider function based questions. But here we ignore function basedquestions. They are discussed in the next section. Here we boil down thevarious ways into two basic output paths.

(We might point out here that, as with the basic input path, details ofthe output paths can vary depending on the kind of answer.)

Now when we say output path that does not necessarily mean that ananswer is actually outputted. The answer may be missing. We arereferring to the paths by which AC tries to get an answer to output. Anattempt may or may not succeed.

In other words, when we say output path we mean how Rex declares that hewants an answer and what AC does in response to that declaration.

(Note: AC enables Sue to get answers as well. She will normally ask tosee an answer in order to check the competition. AC does not registerher declaration as demand information. AC may also have a special modefor users who want answers outputted for the purpose of checking thecompetition. We refer to Rex throughout because the output paths mainlyconcern Rex.)

5.3a Some Definitions

We call Rex's declaration an output request (o-request).

Output requests are obviously a kind of request information. Indescribing the basic system of part I (Chapters 1 and 2, that is) we didnot worry much about differentiating request information. In this part(especially in Chapter 6) we do identify many different kinds of requestinformation and request situations. We do not simply think in terms of“requests.”

Request information encompasses many actions by users that do notinvolve a user actually asking to get a given answer. For example, whenRex arrives at a question the arrival alone is considered requestinformation. Yet upon arriving, he may not ask to get the direct answer.He may just look at A-stats at that location.

In other sections, for the sake of convenience, we sometimes use theterms “to request” and “a request” too loosely. The noun form especiallyis a more general term that does not always mean that the user wants tobuy an answer. Because “a request” can be ambiguous, we use the term“output request” in this section to signify that Rex asks AC to output agiven answer-missing or actual.

And when AC attempts to output a given answer, we call that attempt anoutput request as well. That's because an output request implies anoutput attempt.

As with the word request, o-request will have a noun and verb form. So,to o-request means that Rex asks to have an answer outputted, and itmeans that AC tries to output an answer.

When a missing answer is found as a result of an o-request, we call thatan o-miss.

When an actual answer is found as a result of an o-request, we call thatan o-hit. We must be a little careful here. An o-hit does notnecessarily mean that an answer is outputted. That's because Rex may nothave offered to pay enough for the answer. Either way, AC registers ano-hit.

AC may treat price differently from other search stats because of itstransactional aspects. Rex can be at a question that has a directanswer. If he does not offer enough for the answer, then he will not getit. That is not the case with other search stats. Thus, AC candistinguish between a successful o-hit and a failed o-hit.

However, since ways of making payment offers, and way of matchinganswers can vary greatly, AC may treat price like any other search stat.

5.3b The Human Matched Answer (HMA) Output Path

The human matched answer (HMA) output path is an awkward name. The pathis so named because the user is the one who decides what answer ischosen for output.

This output path is the inverse of the basic input path. Rex arrives ata question (Q-location). The Q-display presents him with options forseeing A-stats about the direct answer and with options for making andaccepting price offers for the answer. He then decides whether he wantsthe direct answer.

If he wants it he selects Get Direct Answer, the command AC includes fordesignating the HMA path. If no answer is there, AC registers a o-missin the Q-record of the current-Q. If an answer is there, AC registers ano-hit in the Q-A-record. If Rex has offered to pay enough for theanswer, AC outputs it.

(As discussed, an A-stats may tell Rex whether the answer is in or notbefore he presses Get Direct Answer. Even if he knows the answer ismissing he may still press the command to express his interest in buyingthe answer. Expressions of interest are elaborated upon in Chapter 6.)

Here we ignore the commercial aspects of the transaction, such as priceoffers. The point is that Rex decides that the information at aQ-location indicates that the direct answer will satisfy him. We mightcall the direct answer the directly matching answer. And thus we saythat Rex has decided on the matching answer.

Now, as discussed in section 5.2, a question may have multiple directanswers. In this case, AC potentially then can output multiple answers.But the simplest way is to output one. For simplicity, we assume thenthat AC outputs one answer per o-request (and that AC registers oneo-hit per HMA o-request).

As discussed, there are a variety of ways that AC can present A-statsfor actual answers. Regardless of the method used, if only one directanswer is to be outputted, we can generalize and say that Rex must be ata particular Q-A-location in order to use the HMA path. (How Rex arrivesat a Q-A-location is discussed in section 5.2.) Get Direct Answer thenapplies to the answer at that Q-A-location.

Digression on Output and Charge Rules

(We do not mean to short shrift the issue of how many answers Rex seesper o-request. Because there can be numerous, similar answers to aquestion, AC may enable Rex to see more than one answer, while onlycharging him for one. The output and charge rules can vary so widelythat we cannot go into the possible variations. For simplicity we assumethat AC outputs and charges for only one answer per o-request. The sameapplies to the output path described below.)

5.3c The Machine Matched Answer (MMA) Output Path

The HMA output path is in contrast to the machine matched answer (MMA)output path. In the MMA path Rex determines the question and any searchstats, but then leaves it up to AC to decide what answer best matchesthe question or Q+.

The MMA path involves more output attempt possibilities than the HMApath because the direct answer to the current-Q is not the onlycandidate for output. The best matching answer may be at anotherQ-location.

One of the key things that makes the MMA path different from the HMApath is that if AC finds that the best matching answer is missing, ACwill look for the next best matching answer, and so on, until it findsan actual answer, or until it decides that there is no adequatelymatching actual answer.

In the HMA path, Rex makes one choice at a Q-location (or Q-A-location).If an answer is not there, he must go to another Q-location (orQ-A-location). In the MMA path, AC may find numerous o-misses before itfinds an o-hit. All the misses are best matching answers; they arematches of missing answers.

Now there can be variations on this plan. AC can include defaultswhereby, if the number of misses is greater than a threshold, AC willask Rex to specify his question or Q+ better. Defaults may be helpfulbecause missing answers will probably vastly outnumber actual answers inAC. In other words, questions will probably vastly outnumber actualanswers.

A Few Definitions for Explaining the MMA Path

The source of an o-request means the question Rex is at, the current-Q,when Rex enters an o-request. Sometimes, we will also call it theprimary source.

A direct o-request means that the source of the o-request is a directquestion to the answer that is o-requested. (In the HMA path everyo-request is a direct o-request. In the MMA path, o-requests can bedirect and indirect.)

An indirect o-request means that the source of the o-request is aquestion other than a direct question to the answer that is o-requested.(Note: in section 5.2 we defined an indirect question and an indirectanswer in terms of how questions are linked together. Here the term“indirect” has a broader meaning. While linked questions can be thesources of indirect o-requests, non-linked questions and FB-Q's can alsobe the sources of indirect o-requests.)

The secondary source of an o-request is the question that is matched byan indirect o-request. In other words, when an answer is o-requested,and the direct question to that answer is not the source of theo-request, then the direct question is called a secondary source. (Ifthere is more than one direct question to an answer, it is only thedirect question that is matched that is the secondary source.)

If AC finds an actual answer due to an indirect o-request, then ACregisters an indirect o-hit in the Q-record of the secondary source. IfAC does not find an actual answer then AC registers an indirect o-miss.We call these o-hits and o-misses “indirect” because the direct-Q wasnot the source of the o-request.

Sequence for the MMA Path

AC includes a command, which we call Get Best Answer, that designatesthe MMA path. (In certain lands, AC might default to the MMA path.)

For simplicity, we assume that Rex presses Get Best Answer after he hasarrived at a question. (AC may enable him to press it before he enters aquestion.)

Search stats can be used along with the current-Q to search for ananswer. Before hitting Get Best Answer, Rex can enter search stats ordesignate that background ones are to be used. As noted, we call thecurrent-Q plus search stats a Q+.

(Again we ignore the commercial aspects, but we note that when Rex usesGet Best Answer, he must also set a price threshold for the answer hewants to buy, unless he is restricting his search to a land where pricesare uniform. In other words, Rex must make a price offer along with hiso-request.)

After Rex hits Get Best Answer, AC searches for the answer that bestmatches the current-Q or Q+. When we say AC searches for an answer, wemean that AC looks for the best matching answer whether it is missing oractual. In other words, AC searches for best matching Q-locations andQ-A-locations.

If AC finds a best matching Q-location without an answer, that means AChas found a best matching missing answer. AC then registers an o-miss inthe Q-record of that question and then looks for another match (if thematched question is not the current-Q, AC registers an indirect o-miss).AC keeps going until it finds an actual answer at or below the price Rexhas offered, or until it determines that there is no adequately matchingactual answer.

If AC finds a matching actual answer, it registers an o-hit in theQ-record and Q-A-record of the matching question and answer. Thus, ifthe matching answer is not a direct answer to the current-Q, ACregisters an indirect o-hit.

Now, where the MMA path is concerned, AC may treat price like a searchstat screen in the sense that it will not register an o-hit unless theprice of the answer is at or below Rex's offer. In this case, AC willonly register an o-hit for one answer, the answer that is outputted.

The reason not to bother with actual answers that cost more than Rex'sprice offer is that Rex may have set such a low offer that AC has tomatch too many actual answers, register too many unsuccessful o-hits, tono effect. (The same problem can exist where there is no actual answer,and no price set for the missing answer. AC may match too many missinganswers.)

On the other hand, AC may treat price specially, as discussed, andregister an o-hit for every actual answer that matches Rex's question orQ+, except for the price search stat.

How AC treats price when looking for an actual answer to output can varygreatly. AC's matching rules can contain various ways for cutting downon unnecessary matching that can take place in the MMA path.

The Best Matching Answer Might Not be at the Current-Q

Though Rex is at a current-Q when he hits Get Best Answer, AC will notnecessarily find that the current-Q has a best matching actual ormissing answer. Even if an actual answer is there, AC may not choose itas the best available answer. Any matching answer depends on what searchstats, if any, Rex has entered, and on the alternative answers thatexist, and on AC's matching rules.

(Off the point somewhat, we note that one important reason Rex may usethe Get Best Answer command is because there is no direct answer to thecurrent-Q.)

A Way to Pick From Among Multiple Direct Answers

As discussed, the current-Q may have multiple direct answers and nocurrent answer. If so, Get Best Answer can be a way that Rex lets ACpick from among the direct answers to the current-Q. Thus, AC may alsohave a separate command, Get Best Direct Answer. This command applies incases where there are multiple direct answers and Rex has decided thathe wants one of these and not an answer at another Q-location. While Rexhas picked a direct answer, we still consider this a machine matchedanswer.

Not Bothering to Show a Q-location

AC can enable Rex to enter a question or Q+ and then hit Get Best Answerwithout showing him the Q-location for that question. That's because Rexmay not be interested in seeing anything at a Q-location. He may justwant to see an answer.

In this case, unseen by Rex, AC makes the new question the current-Q asif Rex had entered the question without also hitting Get Best Answer. ACregisters the necessary information, as discussed in section 5.1. Forexample, if the question is new to the system, AC creates a Q-locationfor it. AC still searches for the answer that best matches the questionentered.

Rex will only see the answer, if any, that is found. If no answer isfound, AC tells Rex and Rex can keep entering questions and Q+'s, untilan answer is found.

In order to choose this option, Rex might enter a question and then twocommands such as Get Best Answer and See Answer Only.

5.3d Registering O-requests

Registering an O-Request in the Q-Record of a Direct Question

When an answer is o-requested, AC registers whether the o-request isdirect or indirect. And AC registers whether the o-request is a hit or amiss. And AC registers whether the o-request comes from the HMA or theMMA path. AC registers these things in the Q-record of the directquestion to the answer that is o-requested.

In the case of an indirect o-request, AC also registers what the sourceof the o-request is. In other words, it registers the primary source ofan indirect o-request in the Q-record of the secondary source.

Registering the sources of o-requests can be useful information thatenables users to see what questions people have asked in order to buy,or try to buy, a given answer. For example, say the source of theo-request is: Movie Review of Casablanca?. And say the answer that iso-requested is the direct answer to the question: Movie Review ofCasablanca by Kael?. Then the primary source of the o-request (MovieReview of Casablanca?) is registered in the Q-record of the secondquestion.

AC can also register Q+'s as sources of o-requests.

Registering an O-Request at the Source

In addition to registering an indirect o-request in the secondarysource's Q-record, AC also registers the o-request, and it's result, inthe Q-record of the primary source. For example, if Rex is at thequestion, Movie Review of Casablanca?, and presses Get Best Answer, thenAC registers the o-request in the Q-record of that question andregisters that the o-request is indirect, and registers that thatquestion is the source.

Registering O-Misses Due to the MMA Path

The MMA path can potentially lead to a great number of o-misses pero-request, as AC tries to find the actual answer that best matches Rex'squestion or Q+. Before AC finds a question that has an actual answer, itmay find hundreds, thousands, millions of questions that are bettermatches, but whose answers are missing. That can be a problem becausethe value of each o-request can depend on how many other o-requests havegone along with it. For example, if someone expresses interest in 200different hypothetical shirts, that does not mean that the person wants200 shirts. He may only have interest in one shirt. The value of eachexpression of interest thus can depend on how many other shirts he hasexpressed interest in.

So what happens when there are multiple MMA o-misses? Well, as noted, ACmay have default rules such that if there are too many o-misses for agiven o-request, AC will ask Rex to further specify his question or Q+.That is beside the point though.

-   1. As discussed, AC registers each indirect o-request, including    o-misses, in the Q-record of the matched questions, the secondary    sources, that is.-   2. Where the MMA path is concerned, for a given o-request, AC can    also register with each o-miss the number of other o-misses    associated with that o-request.-   3. And further, for a given o-hit or o-miss, AC can also register    what questions AC considered better matches.

5.3e Output Path Through Linked Questions

As noted, AC can enable users to link questions. When Rex arrives at aquestion that is linked to others, the question may possibly have adirect answer and/or an indirect answer. A net of linked questions canpotentially be vast; thus a question may have a multitude of indirectanswers.

Looking for an answer, Rex can travel from the current question to alinked question and keep going in this manner looking for an answer. Or,he may be tired of traveling and may just want to get an answer.

Rex can choose the HMA option or the MMA option. The HMA and MMA methodsremain the same, though there can be minor modifications.

AC can enable Rex, for instance, to specify that an indirect answer isto be outputted. AC can enable Rex to specify what kind of indirectanswer he wants. For example, he might specify an indirect answer thatis linked by one or more synonym links to the current-Q. Linkspecifications are search stats actually, and so the essentials ofoutput paths with linked questions are no different than with non-linkedquestions.

Linked questions mainly offer critical improvements in the ability tofind answers and collect demand for answers. These topics are taken upin Book II.

5.4 Function Based Questions

As noted, AC can include function based questions (FB-Q's) that callspecial functions for finding answers. “Function based question” is aterm that refers to a wide category of questions that find answers byprocessing existing questions and answers in AC.

This definition is inadequate. Actually, it is hard to define FB-Q'swell because they cover a very broad spectrum of possible functions forfinding answers. Examples will demonstrate, but a good definition iselusive.

An FB-Q has two parts:

-   1. a designated function and-   2. subject information.    To enter an FB-Q, a user designates the function and enters the    subject information (though not necessarily in that order). The    function uses the subject information to find an answer in AC.

(Certain search stats can be entered as well to screen answers but wewill ignore these for they are not essential to the discussion.)

In the discussion of FB-Q's we reverse the previous order ofpresentation. First we discuss output paths and then input paths andthen the creation of Q-locations. It is easier this way because whatdistinguishes FB-Q's from plain old questions is how answers are gottenout of the system or are used to yield other answers.

5.4a Output Paths for Function Based Questions

To repeat, FB-Q's find answers by processing questions and answers thatalready exist in AC. (When we say “FB-Q's find,” we mean, of course,that AC finds.)

An FB-Q can find an answer not only by working on the information in aQ-string and in a Q-record, but also in an answer itself. (For example,a keyword search might find a keyword in the content of an answer.)

Three Rough Types of FB-Q's

We can roughly divide FB-Q's into three types of functions: those thatsearch through questions and answers, those that sort answers, and thosethat plug answers into formulas. Actually there is no clear dividingline, and all three kinds of functions can be combined in an FB-Q. Oftenthere is no difference between searching and sorting. Still, the generalideas of searching, sorting and plugging into formulas can help explainhow AC can use FB-Q's to find and output answers.

(Note: We use colloquial questions below as examples, though in actualimplementation the syntax of FB-Q's may be quite constrained.)

FB-Q's That Find Answers by Searching Questions and Answers

AC can include a large range of search functions for locating an answer.The most important are keyword search functions. For example, an FB-Qmight be: Find: “Deep Throat” within 10 words of “Alexander Haig”?. Asnoted, an FB-Q can search the content of both questions and answers. ACcan also enable Rex to specify whether just questions or just answers orboth are to be searched.

FB-Q's That Find Answers by Sorting Answers

AC can include a large range of functions for sorting answers to yield aresulting answer. For example, an FB-Q might be Find: Ten lowest pricesof Walkman X?. If AC has a list of sellers of Walkman X and acorresponding list of prices. AC sorts the list and outputs theresulting answer.

FB-Q's that Find Answers by Plugging Answers Into Formulas

AC can include a large range of functions for plugging answers intoformulas to yield resulting answers. For example, an FB-Q might be,Find: Average Temperature of Florida Cities?. The FB-Q can find theindividual temperatures through their corresponding direct questions,which might be: Temperature Miami?, Temperature Daytona?, TemperatureBoca Raton?, and so on. (AC might find the answers by some otherindexing means, but that is beside the point here.) The FB-Q plugs theindividual answers into an averaging formula, and outputs the resultinganswer.

Use-Requests

In the previous section, we discussed o-requests. Here we add anotherkind of request, a use-request. By this we mean that AC tries to use ananswer as part of another answer or that AC tries to use an answer toplug it into a formula to yield another answer. As with o-requests, theanswer may be present or missing.

AC must register different kinds of use-requests where FB-Q's areconcerned. The variety of possible uses is practically infinite.

Digression on Uses of FB-Q's

Many kinds of answers can only be found by processing other answers in alist or table. Often those other answers can only be collectedefficiently by members of a community rather than by a centralauthority. For example, usually the most efficient way for an economy tofind the lowest price on a given product is through a system that allowspeople to feed in prices to a central list where the prices are sortedto find the lowest ones. This way is more efficient than having acentral authority call all the sellers of the product in order to checkprices. With a feed-in system, only the low price sellers need feed in.AC is, of course, a feed-in system. AC registers the demand for “cell”answers (individual answers in the table) based on the questions,especially FB-Q's, that can be applied to those answers. Because it cancollect this demand, AC is well suited to collecting and processinganswers in tables.

HMA and MMA Output Path

FB-Q's require the MMA output path unless they take the user to aquestion.

Certain FB-Q's, such as keyword searches, can take users to questions.In these cases the user can designate the HMA output path.

For example, say a direct question is, What is the movie Singing in theRain about?. The direct answer to this question might be a descriptionof the movie. Now, let' say that our FB-Q is Find: “movie musical”within ten words of “most popular”?. This FB-Q might find these words inthe direct answer. Rather than output the answer, the FB-Q can take Rexto the direct question, What is the movie Singing in the Rain about?,and from there Rex can decide whether or not to buy the answer.

Say the keyword is simply “Singing in the Rain”. This will match thedirect question. It will probably also match phrases in the answer. Thepoint is simply that AC can take Rex to a question whether the FB-Qfinds the answer through the question's content, or through the answer'scontent, or through both.

(Of course, keyword searches can find numerous matches and therefore ACcan enable Rex to enter further search parameters in the form of moresubject information and search stats.)

FB-Q's as Come-from-Q's

When an FB-Q takes a user to a question, the FB-Q is registered as acome-from-Q.

FB-Q's as Sources of Indirect O-Requests

When an FB-Q o-requests an answer, the FB-Q is an indirect source of theo-request. That's because an FB-Q is not a direct question to the answerthat it causes AC to find. For example, if the FB-Q is Find: Averagetemperature Florida cities?, AC o-requests the answers of various directquestions, such as Temperature Miami?, Temperature Daytona?, etc. toarrive at a resulting answer.

5.4b Function Based Questions Rarely Have Input Paths

As noted, it is hard to define FB-Q's well because they cover a verybroad spectrum of possible functions for finding answers. One litmustest that helps define an FB-Q is the following: an FB-Q is a questionthat users usually cannot supply an answer to. That is because an FB-Qworks on existing questions and answers in AC. Users cannot know theanswer to an FB-Q because users do not know all the questions andanswers in AC.

For example, an important kind of FB-Q is a keyword search. Now, a usercan have no way of supplying an answer to such an FB-Q because she hasno way of knowing all the questions and answers in AC that will matchthe keywords.

Another important kind of FB-Q is one that plugs existing answers into aformula, say a formula for finding the average temperature from a listof temperatures. Again, a user cannot supply the answer because the userdoes not know all the relevant answers (temperatures) in AC's list.

There are exceptions to the rule. Sometimes a user will know enoughabout what is in AC to give a direct answer to the FB-Q. Big exceptionsare certain sorting functions where a user might know the highest orlowest value to supply to a list that AC sorts.

This example was seen in Chapter 2, with the lowest price locator. Theuser can compare the lowest price in AC against prices in the real worldand might know of a lower price in the real world.

Even if the user knows the answer to an FB-Q, AC will normally have theuser supply the answer as a direct answer to a direct question. The FB-Qwill then find the answer through the direct question. For example, ACcan enable the user to enter the answer to a direct question about theprice of a product. The price then goes into a list which is sorted.

Despite the exceptions, FB-Q's generally cannot be answered by peopleand thus they do not have input paths and direct answers.

Showing Direct Questions

Still, AC can show a user the direct questions that correspond to theanswers that an FB-Q causes AC to find. In other words, the FB-Q is aprimary source of an o-request and AC can show the secondary sources ofthose o-requests.

AC can enable a user to ask to see these direct questions. Even withoutAC showing the direct questions, a user may be able to recognize whichdirect questions and answers are involved when an FB-Q searches for ananswer.

A user can choose whether or not to enter direct answers to thosequestions.

5.4c Creating Question Locations

Though an FB-Q has no direct answer, AC can still create a Q-record(including a demand record) for an FB-Q. Demand information (and otherinformation) gathered in the FB-Q's Q-record is fed into the Q-recordsof direct questions that correspond to the answers that AC outputs ortries to output as a result of the FB-Q.

Moreover, AC can show certain A-stats that apply to FB-Q's. The A-statsshown depend on the particular FB-Q. The cost of an answer, for example,is useful to see. POE information can be useful in rare, but important,cases. That's because, as mentioned, users can in certain cases knowwhat answers will be used by the FB-Q.

How much information is kept in an FB-Q's Q-record depends on the FB-Q.Demand information is normally most important, but with FB-Q's it maynot be necessary to keep. It depends on the situation.

For example, AC may not keep demand records of keyword search FB-Q's,but may instead simply register demand information in the Q-records ofthe direct questions that the keyword FB-Q's find. Let us take an FB-Qthat does the following keyword search:

-   Find: “orange” within ten words of “karpousi”?    Let us assume that this question is only entered into AC once during    a year. In a case such as this there may be no point in maintaining    a demand record.

On the other hand, it may be quite useful to keep a demand record for anFB-Q. Let us take an FB-Q that does the following sort:

-   Find: Lowest price Walkman X, in US.?    Here, there may be hundreds of thousands of repeat requests and it    can be quite useful to maintain a demand record.

There are no rigid rules, for the category of FB-Q's is too wide.Decisions in this area are design decisions.

5.5 Combining Information in Question Records

In the previous sections we saw how multiple questions can lead to thesame answer being requested. When multiple questions can lead to thesame answer being requested, AC needs to come up with a combined set ofinformation to be fed into the POF. Recall, the organizing goal of thesystem is to come up with an estimate of total sales and royalties of ananswer. If a question is a vending machine and an answer is a product,and if the product can be requested for sale through different machines,then it is obviously best to combine the sales records from each machineinto a total count.

In this short section we have in mind mainly the combining ofinformation in D-records because the main goal is to create a good POEfor an answer and that depends primarily on the D-records. However,other parts of Q-records can also be usefully combined. This isespecially so when there are multiple direct-Q's for an answer.

Registering Indirect O-Requests

To repeat from section 5.3, an answer can be indirectly o-requested. Asnoted, AC registers an indirect o-request in the Q-record of thedirect-Q of the answer that has been o-requested. AC also registers thesource of the o-request. And so, AC registers and classifies all theindirect o-requests for an answer in the Q-record of the secondarysource, the direct-Q to that answer. In this way AC can combine therequest information from direct-Q's and the sources of indirecto-requests.

When Multiple Direct Questions Correspond to the Same Answer

When multiple questions are direct questions to the same answer, AC canautomatically link their Q-records. (By linking records, we mean thatinformation in a first record can be accessed from a second record, andvice versa.)

This principle applies whether the answer is missing or actual. FIG.4.21 shows three questions 201, 202, 203 that correspond the same actualanswer 204. We imagine that their Q-records are linked by showing dashedarrows between the questions. In addition, for each question there is aQ-A-record 205, 206, 207 that corresponds to the actual answer. TheQ-A-record (Q-A-locations) are linked as well. Thus, if a user is at oneof the Q-records and Q-A-records, AC can pull information from the otherlinked records. In this way, AC can combine Q-info and Q-A-info topresent to the user, and to feed into the POF. If AC registersinformation in one of the Q-records, this information can also beregistered in the linked Q-records. Q-info can be combined in a greatvariety of ways, of course.

Linking Question Records of Linked Questions

In Book II, we discuss how AC can directly link questions that are notnecessarily direct questions to the same answer. As discussed in BookII, whenever AC links two questions it also links their Q-records,especially their D-records.

In Book II we will discuss how AC can combine demand information ofindirectly linked questions (how AC and users can evaluate demandinformation combined from a net of questions). For now, we just say thatAC can link the Q-records of directly linked questions. This impliesthat AC can combine the information in Q-records of indirectly linkedquestions.

Common Question Record

When there are multiple direct-Q's to an answer, AC can use informationfrom their Q-records to create a common Q-record. The principle appliesfor actual answers and missing answers that have multiple direct-Q's incommon.

This common Q-record can be created by feeding in information from theindividual Q-records into the common record.

The common record contains information from each Q-record that appliesto the answer that all the questions have in common (though theindividual Q-records might contain demand information about answers notin common as well).

In the case of multiple direct-Q's to an actual answer, a commonQ-A-record is created in addition to the common Q-record. The common Q-Arecord may be considered a sub-record of the common Q-record.

When a user arrives at one of the individual direct-Q's, he can seeA-stats based on the common record, not just based on the individualQ-record.

What Location is the User At?

When a user is at a Q-location, he is interacting primarily with theQ-record of that location. But, when a question is linked to otherquestions, the Q-info can be pulled from multiple Q-records. Or, theQ-info may be pulled from a common Q-record. So, when multiple questionscorrespond to the same direct answer we have two perspectives on aquestion location. From the user's perspective, he is at a singlequestion. In other words, in general, AC presents a single location tothe user. But, from AC's perspective, one can in sense think of the userbeing at multiple locations, at least that AC can pull information frommultiple Q-records.

A more confusing situation can arise when the user chooses the MMAoutput path and asks AC to Get the Best Answer. AC then outputs ananswer. Now, if the answer corresponds to more than one Q-A-record,which Q-A-location is the user at? Again, AC may pull information fromthe multiple Q-A-records, but in general, it presents the user with asingle location. (Of course, it is possible to show the user that theanswer corresponds to multiple direct questions and multipleQ-A-records. For simplicity, we can say that AC would default to one ofthe Q-locations and one of the Q-A-locations as the primary location.)

How to Use the Combined Information?

A general, and generally unsolvable, problem is how to apply the demandinformation that is combined from different Q-records. This problem isan extension of the problem of how to apply the demand information of asingle Q-record. That's because, as discussed several times now, thereis no single answer that the information should apply to. This problemis the same, and perhaps worse, when different questions are involved inidentifying “an” answer.

Chapter 6 Registering Demand Information

As described in Chapter 2, AC collected two kinds of demand informationabout an answer. One was the number of requests for the answer and theother was the times of those requests. AC can collect other usefuldemand information. For example, AC can ask the user how much he iswilling to pay for the answer.

As previously discussed, demand information is stored in a demand record(D-record) which is part of a Q-record. AC feeds the information in theD-record into the POF to yield sales forecast and POE information aboutan answer. In other words, the idea is to collect information that canbe used to help potential suppliers answer the question, “What the hellam I going to make if I find and supply this answer?.” Given the purposeof the record, it might be called the sales forecast record or thepay-off estimate record, but demand record seems more natural.

Whatever the name, a fat problem remains. Future demand cannot bemeasured. The problems involved are worse than just those inherent inmaking projections. In fact, demand cannot be measured at all. And yet,in order to come up with a good guess or guesses about future sales, ACneeds to gather information on what we call demand. A brief digressionis in order.

6.1 A Digression About Demand

The Meaning of Demand

Demand can refer to the idea of how many units of something are sold ata certain price over a certain period of time. For example, one can saythat the demand for gasoline this year was 80 billion gallons at a priceof $1 a gallon (never mind for the moment that prices fluctuate).

However, demand as we normally think of it means something more general.It usually refers to how much a group of people want a product orservice or piece of information. Here we get into trouble, for how muchone person wants something is a psychological state and we cannotmeasure that. Then if we consider multiple people, we have to add uptheir individual desires. Of course, if we can't measure one person'sdesire, we certainly can't add the desires of many people.

A “measure” we have of a person's demand (desire) for something is howmuch that person is willing to pay for the thing. But even here we arein trouble and we can see how sloppy the idea of demand is, for how dowe measure how much an individual is “willing to pay” for something,say, a carton of milk, a lawnmower, a necklace, a house, a telephonenumber, a book? Well we cannot measure “willingness to pay” because wecannot read a person's mind. The amount a person does pay, the price atthe time of purchase, does not measure how much that person is willingto pay. A person might buy a shirt at $40 but that doesn't mean that $40is exactly what the person is willing to pay. He might have been willingto pay more. A person might pass up a shirt at $40 which he would havebought it at $35. Perhaps the highest he was willing to pay was $37.47.The seller will never know exactly. Even the buyer will never know anexact, static figure. He may be broke one day. He may be flush the next.A purchasing decision is a psychological state as well.

Then we add a further complication. With most goods and services we havean open market, meaning we usually offer everyone the same price andmake that price public, as opposed to having individual negotiationswith every potential buyer. But an open market doesn't tell us muchabout the total demand for an item. If the price of a shirt is $30 inthe open market, how will we know how many people would have paid moreand how much each person would have paid? And how will we know how manypeople are willing to pay for the shirt but not as much as $30, and howwill we know how much each of these people would have paid?

So while we often might say that demand means how many units ofsomething were sold at a given price, over a given period of time, thatdoes not mean we are measuring demand. We see that there is no suchthing as demand in the sense of something concrete we can measure.

Then let us add yet another complication. We would like to know aboutthe total demand of a group of people, yet different people expressinterest in a product at different times. Moreover, prices fluctuate.How then can we measure the total demand at a given time? And at whatpoint in time? We cannot. There is no such thing we can measure asdemand in the present. All we can do is have one set of people, thosewho have expressed interest at different points in the past represent aset of people in the future, quite a dicey proposition.

We should not leave out one more major problem which is thatalternatives change. While we collect information about an answer over aperiod of time, alternative answers, both missing and actual, may arrivein AC during and after that period. Say we have collected informationabout a given shirt. What is the relevance of the past information whennew, competing shirts hit the stores? What is the relevance when newshirt designs are requested that may or may not be supplied? As withevaluating demand for any product, it can be hard to evaluate the demandfor a given answer in light of new alternatives that keep popping up.

Despite all these problems, we can gather information—which we calldemand information—that helps us guess at what sales of something may beduring a given period of the future. Our guesses, on average, will bebetter with this information than without.

A Few More Things to Keep In Mind About Demand Information Collected byAC

AC registers demand information when a user selects request mode (orwhatever we call the means by which AC enables users to declare theirdesire to buy an answer). When we say that a user declares his desire tobuy an answer, we do not mean a particular answer, we mean the moregeneral idea that the user is looking for an answer to get, rather thanlooking to accomplish other goals.

(As discussed, there are other modes that users can be in, such assupply mode and check mode. AC can include purpose (mode) buttons that auser can press to tell AC what his or her purpose is for going to agiven Q-location or Q-A-location. The point is that AC enables users todifferentiate between the desire to buy an answer, and the desire toaccomplish some other goal.)

The demand information is collected (registered) at questions(Q-locations) because questions represent answers. Some of theinformation is collected automatically when the requester enters aquestion and other information is registered by prompting him orenabling him to enter the information of his own accord.

The correspondence between questions and answers is strange. Therefore,how demand information applies to a given answer is not clear. We recallfrom Chapter 4 that demand information does not necessarily apply to asingle answer. But we also recall that the best we can do is gatherinformation under a question and then make assumptions about how thatinformation applies to an answer or answers.

6.2 Introduction: Demand Information in AC

People can ask for all kinds of answers from a phone number, to a curefor malaria, to the contents of mayonnaise, to a blueprint of the GreatPyramid, to a video on changing a tire. In some cases, one person may beinterested in an answer, in other cases thousands of people may beinterested. In some cases people will be willing to pay 0.1 cent, inother cases a 1,000,000 dollars. The range of demand possibilities iswide and demand information (D-info) can be collected all along thisrange.

There are many kinds of D-info. Some is what we think of as “plain oldinformation,” such as the time that a request is made. But some is morethan that because it involves a buying offer. If a user agrees to buy ananswer at a given price this offer is D-info. And if the answer is inthe system, and AC agrees to that price as well, then a sale is made. Inother words, a buying offer involves more than just information. Itinvolves a contract and possibly a transaction. Now very often an answerwill be missing and no sale will be made. Whether an answer is missingor is present, the point remains that Rex intends to buy and thisintention is made operational by AC. By that we mean that AC includesfunctions for registering Rex's offer and for executing whatevercontractual obligations are involved, such as the delivery of the answerand the registering of charges and payments. So when we say D-infosometimes we have in mind plain old information, other times we have inmind more than that, for an offer and transaction operations may beinvolved.

We will show some of these transactional steps in this Chapter eventhough they are operations in addition to the storing of information inthe D-record. The registering of D-info involves these activities so itis appropriate to discuss some of them here. However, we omit most ofthe transactional steps, taking them to be understood.

(We should note that AC can use information that might not be stored inthe D-record to help in predicting sales. For example, complaints aboutan answer might help predict the sales of the answer. These are storedin the Q-record, though perhaps not in the sub-record we have called aD-record. However, if AC uses information to predict sales, we willconsider that information to be D-info.)

In any projection of future sales and income there are too many factorsto keep track of. Formulas for projections have been known to containthousands of variables and still fail miserably. In the next sections ofthis chapter we discuss several types of D-info that can be useful inforecasting the sales of an answer. The list is not, and cannot be,exhaustive. (We do not describe how the information is used by a POF.)

For convenience, section 6.2 is divided into two parts. Part 6.2adescribes the registering of what we might call request information,information that is registered along with a request. Part 6.2b describesthe registering of price information. Both kinds of information areessential for characterizing a request but it is convenient to split thediscussion into two parts because the registering of price informationinvolves numerous sub-issues.

We note here that some of the D-info discussed can only be registered inthe D-record of the current-Q. For example, when Rex makes a commitmentto buy an answer, this commitment applies to a direct answer to thecurrent-Q. In other cases, AC can register D-info in the D-records ofquestions that are not necessarily the current-Q. This can happenbecause of the MMA path, in which indirect o-requests can be registeredin the D-records of questions other than the current-Q. This wasdiscussed in section 5.3.

MMA o-requests can have many of the same things registered about them asHMA o-requests. However, it is hoped that it will clear from the contextof the discussion that certain kinds of information do not apply to MMAo-requests.

Section 6.3 discusses the registering of buying situations. Instead ofthinking of just a request plus additional information, it is better tothink in terms of situations. These can be characterized by numerousfactors, and we can only touch on some of the important ones.

Section 6.4 briefly discusses how AC can compile demand statistics andhow it can use these in characterizing a request.

Section 6.5 touches on the central issue of evaluating a request inlight of alternative requests.

Section 6.6 touches on how time can render D-info obsolete and how ACcan adjust for this problem.

Section 6.7 discusses a few other considerations that might be thoughtof as miscellaneous points.

Sections 6.8 just mentions the important possibility of investmentoffers.

6.2A Some Useful Kinds of Demand Information

1. Requests

Request is a term that covers a range of actions that Rex can take andthat AC can register information about. We can distinguish betweeninnumerable different requests based on numerous situations that Rex canbe in and numerous actions that AC can allow Rex to take. We will try toclassify requests in a limited number of ways, while realizing thatthere are other ways, and that we can never be exhaustive.

Most broadly, we can divide requests into two generic kinds: arrivalrequests and output requests. We add information to these genericrequests. The more basic of the two is the first.

1) Arrival Requests (es-Requests).

By arrival request we mean that Rex enters or selects a question. Hethus arrives at a question, a Q-location (or a Q-A-location), that is.We call such a request an es-request for the terms Enter and Select. (Wewould use A-request, for Arrival, but that might be confused withAnswer.) The arrival at a question is the base request that all otherD-info is built on. Even output requests are built on es-requestsbecause in order for Rex to make an output request he has to be at aquestion (though he may not see the information at the Q-location).

2) Output Requests.

By output request we mean that Rex asks AC to output an answer. Weabbreviate this as o-request. In section 5.3 we described two Get Answercommands, Get Direct Answer and Get Best Answer, that cause AC toregister o-requests. However, there can be many other commands, andsituations, that cause AC to try to output an answer. For example, ACcan include an Accept Price command which, when pressed, signifies thatRex accepts AC's price offer and that he wants an answer to beoutputted. As usual, we cannot give universal rules. But basically, ifRex has agreed to pay an amount of money for an answer, AC considersthat an o-request.

Both es-requests and o-requests have been described in chapter 5. ACregisters all the information discussed in chapter 5 about requestsincluding:

-   -   Come-from-Q's and go-to-Q's, including Q+'s.    -   O-requests-o-hits and o-misses, and whether they resulted from        the HMA or MMA path, and what their primary and secondary        sources were.

As noted in chapter 5, in certain lands, arrival at a question impliesan output request. But in most lands AC allows Rex to have more optionsthan just buying, and therefore, Rex may have other motives when hearrives at a question. If we think of Rex as a shopper, we realize thathe can have many motives and that they might change depending on what hesees at a question. Below we list some of the ways we can think of Rex'smotives. These are colloquial terms though. How AC classifies a requestdepends on what Rex does at a question and on the situation Rex is in,and on the rules of the particular AC.

-   a. Wants to Buy. He may want to buy the direct answer to the    current-Q.-   b. Browsing. He might be browsing, seeing what the A-stats at the    current-Q say.-   c. Traveling Through. He might be looking for another question that    matches the current-Q or is linked to the current-Q.-   d. Buying Through. He might want to buy an answer that is not the    direct answer to the current-Q (he can do this using the MMA path).-   e. Free Riding. He might want an answer but does not want to pay for    it. Answers may be free to certain users (see chapter 7 on price    setting) and the requests of these users can be used as D-info to    indicate the demand of paying users.

Recalling the foundation task of the system—to count how many peoplewant an answer—the most important distinction between requests iswhether or not Rex has any interest in buying the direct answer to thequestion he is at. We can think of Rex as if he was in a consumerelectronics store. He walks up to (arrives) at a sign (Q-string) thatsays Color TV. The sign also has a lot of other information (A-stats)describing the TV. The TV is not right there in front of him, only thedescription. In addition, the sign lists the names of some other TV'sand directions to where their signs are. Rex can go to one of thosesigns as well. Now the key issue is: does Rex want to buy the TVdescribed by the sign that he is at?

AC needs means and rules that attempt to characterize Rex's intentions.We discuss some of these means and rules after we discuss price tests.That's because guessing whether someone wants to buy something is oftentied up with whether the person offers to pay for something.

In sub-sections 2-12 below, we describe some of the additionalinformation AC can register along with a request. As noted, some of theinformation described only applies to es-requests and to HMA patho-requests. It does not apply to o-requests from the MMA path. Otherinformation applies to all requests.

(The main reason some of the information described below cannot apply toMMA o-requests is that it requires a decision by Rex about a specificanswer, as represented by the Q-location Rex is at. But with the MMApath AC may automatically search numerous locations without showing themto Rex. It is thus impractical for him to make a decision at each ofthese locations.)

2. Type of Use

An answer can be o-requested for various types of uses, in addition tostraight output. For example, an answer can be used in a formula thatleads to the output of a different answer. AC registers the type of usethat is requested, because different prices and royalty rates can applyto different uses. This kind of information is an exception to mostD-info in that it applies mainly to indirect MMA o-requests.

3. Actual Sales

Actual sales are an important type of request information. ACdifferentiates between requests when an answer is bought and when it isnot. Further, AC keeps track of total sales which are important not onlyfor predicting future sales but for calculating royalties. And, further,AC keeps track of refunds where buyers inform the system that an answeris inadequate and where buyers get their money back.

4. Time Information

AC registers the time of each request. This information is usuallycritical for calculating a POE and it is essential for numerous otherpurposes.

Another kind of time information AC can register is how long users willbe interested in the answers they have requested. Answers are onlyvaluable for certain periods of time. For example, AC might registerdozens of requests for the score of a football game. From theserequests, AC might project a large POE. However, AC does not know thatfew people will be interested in the score shortly after the game isover. Users must tell it in order for AC to reflect this fact in thePOE. (Of course, declining demand will show up in the POE, but therewill be a lag.) So AC can ask Rex to input the time period for which heis interested in an answer.

Furthermore, AC can ask Rex to guess how long he thinks others will beinterested in an answer. This guess can may be useful for calculating aprojection of future demand. Taking our football score example, Rex caninput that he is interested in the score of the game up until, say, fouro'clock. And he can input that he thinks demand for the score will taperoff at eight o'clock.

5. Requestor Identity

It goes without saying that AC can register who has made a request. Thisinformation is necessary for collecting and using various kinds ofD-info.

6. Prospect List

AC can maintain a list of all the people who have entered or selected aquestion. We might call this the prospect list for the answer thatcorresponds to the question.

If an answer is not in the system, all the people who have requested itare potential prospects. If an answer is in system, all those people whodid not buy it because the price was too high are also prospects. If ananswer is in system, all those people who bought it are also potentialprospects, for the answer may change and these people might beinterested in the new version.

AC can differentiate between these three types of prospects (there aremany other ways to classify prospects as well).

AC can also store the price each prospect was willing to buy at or didbuy at (see price tests below).

AC can enable potential Sue's to contact the prospects to see if theyare still interested in an answer. A potential Sue can also ask theprospects if they are willing to pay more for it than they have offered.

AC can also contact prospects. Before the relevant answer is in thesystem, AC can check to see if they are still interested in the answer.Further, AC can recontact the prospects when the answer arrives in thesystem or when the price declines. Rather than contact every prospect,AC might sample the prospects to check reaction.

7. Placing an Order

If an answer is not in the system, AC enables Rex “place an order” inthe sense of asking to be alerted when the answer arrives. (The ordermay include the price that Rex is willing to pay. See price testsbelow.) AC registers the order and then, when the answer comes in, sendsRex a message that the answer has arrived.

AC also enables Rex to cancel the order at any time, including when theanswer arrives. The cancellation is also registered.

Note: when an answer arrives, the price may not be acceptable to Rex.Thus, Rex may not end up buying the answer, even if he wants it.

8. Making a Commitment

Now if an answer is not in the system, AC enables Rex to commit tobuying the answer for a certain period of time at a certain price. Theprice may be set by AC at the time of the commitment, or Rex may make anoffer (see price tests below).

Making a commitment is different than placing an order. In that casethere is not a commitment to buy, just an expression of interest. HereRex makes a binding commitment good for a certain period of time. ACregisters the commitment and also registers when the time periodexpires.

If the answer arrives before the time period expires, AC alerts Rex. Andif the price of the answer is equal to or below what Rex has committedto, then AC can automatically charge Rex. On the other hand, the pricemight be higher than Rex committed to and then he has to decide whetherto buy or not at that price.

AC may enable Rex to retract a commitment (the retraction rules can varywidely and may, for example, involve the forfeiture of a deposit).

The option to make a commitment can be quite an important feature of ACbecause a commitment tells a potential Sue that she can be more sure ofgetting a given amount of money for supplying an answer. She can say toherself, “Well, at least I know that I'll get that much money.”

9. Canceling an Order or Retracting a Commitment

When we say that AC registers the cancellation of an order, that doesnot mean that AC deletes the original order from the D-record. Theoriginal order no longer counts in the sense of selling Rex the answer(after a cancellation, AC does not alert Rex when the answer arrives).But the original placing of the order may still be useful D-info. Forexample, if a person orders a certain brand of cereal in the morning butthen cancels the order in the afternoon, the person's order still mayrepresent demand for the brand. It just may be that the person, notwanting to wait, found a less preferable brand for breakfast. Taking ananswer example, a person might place an order for instructions on how tochange a tire. The person might later cancel the order because, beforethe instructions arrive, he finds someone to show him how to change thetire. Still, the person's order for the instructions may represent(correlate with) other peoples' desire for the instructions in thefuture.

The same reasoning applies to the failure to renew a commitment when itexpires, and also to the retraction of such a commitment. The originalcommitment can be useful D-info.

Recall, the idea is to forecast the sales of an answer and that dependson the situations of individual requestors and whether their situationsrepresent (correlate with) other peoples' situations in the future. Thatis a highly variable, dicey proposition. We can make no general rules.Sometimes canceled orders and commitments will give us helpful hintsabout future sales, other times not.

Because the situations are so variable, it can help if AC gathersinformation on why Rex canceled an order or retracted a commitment ordid not renew a commitment.

Thus, when Rex does any of these things, AC can ask him the followingquestions and register his responses:

-   Did you change your mind because:-   a. the requested answer is out of date?-   b. your needs changed?-   c. you found a better answer elsewhere?    -   if yes, was the answer in AC?        -   if yes, which answer was it        -   (identify the answer by the question you found it through,            please).

(Though it is not the point here, let's mention that AC enables a userto keep track of the questions he has asked. AC keeps the list in theuser record, which the user can access. AC also maintains a sub-list ofquestions the user has asked and that have not yet been answered. A usercan “clean up” this list by going through the questions and markingcertain ones that he has no more interest in with a cancel mark. ACregisters each mark and cancels the corresponding orders.)

10. Would've Bought (the Meaning of Direct O-Misses)

When Rex is at a question and he knows the direct answer is not in, hecan still make an o-request. We call this kind of request a directo-request, and it's result is a direct o-miss. Now, if Rex does notplace an order or make a commitment to buy the answer, a direct o-misscan be interpreted to mean, “I would've bought the answer if it had beenin.” Want-it marks, discussed in 5.1g, are another way of making adirect o-miss. AC can also enable Rex to make a price offer for themissing answer.

Rex has the option of not entering a direct o-request when he is at aquestion that has no direct answer. That is why such a request can beimportant D-info; it helps AC determine Rex's intentions. This topic isdiscussed further after the discussion of price offers.

(Another way that AC can enable Rex to make such a request is withseparate “button” Rex can press to indicate, “I would've bought theanswer if it was here.” This button is equivalent to a direct o-requestfor a missing answer, but it may be easier to give Rex two differentcommands, one that applies when the direct answer is in, and one when itis not.)

11. Preventing Double Counting

One piece of information that can be useful to register is whether Rexhas asked the same question previously. In many cases repeat requestslead to misleading double counting of requests. For example, Rex mightask for the final score of a football game ten times before getting ananswer (because the answer has not been entered until the time of thetenth request). It can therefore be useful for AC to include steps forregistering whether Rex is making a repeat request.

AC can identify repeats by keeping a list of questions arrived at by theuser, and then checking against this list. Alternatively, AC can keep alist in a given question record of the users who have arrived at thatquestion, and check against this list.

When a repeat request is not for a new answer, we call it a falserequest. AC requires rules for determining whether a repeat request is afalse request. There are many factors that can come into play becausethe answer situations and requester situations vary widely.

Whether a repeat is a false request can depend on whether an answer haschanged. For example, Rex may ask, What's the weather gonna be like?,ten different times, and each time can be a true, new request where anew answer is sought or a new answer is provided.

Moreover, AC can register in the D-record whether Rex bought andreceived an answer and can check whether the answer has changed sinceRex bought it.

Whether a repeat request is a false request can depend on whether Rexexpects the answer to have changed. The answer might not be changed inAC, but Rex may know that the answer should change or might be changed.Conditions in the world may change or the answer may be improvable.

Therefore, AC can ask Rex whether the repeat request is for a new answeror not. Asking Rex can be important because he may know better than amachine rule whether a request constitutes double counting or not. Forexample, Rex might ask for a second time, What is the temperature of theocean at Ocean City?. He will know whether his request is a falserequest or if he expects a new answer. In other words, if AC has ananswer for the temperature, it may be out of date. AC will not—know thatit is out of date. If Rex then enters a request for the temperature, ACmight treat it as a false request. But Rex can tell AC that his requestis for a new answer. The point is that double counting depends on thesituation and the user's common sense about the real world situation canbetter identify double counting than a machine rule.

(Note also, if AC does not store who has arrived a given question, thenAC can ask the user if the request is for a new answer or not.)

12. Improvement Requests

When Rex gets an answer he might, for various reasons, be dissatisfied.For illustration's, say he enters:

Question: Temperature Miami? and receives, Answer: Mid 70's.

Now, assuming he is dissatisfied, AC can enable him to do three generalthings:

-   1. He can enter a new question better expressing the answer he    wants.-   2. He can use the quality control menu and enter the reasons for his    dissatisfaction.-   3. He can enter what we will call an improvement request (IR).    He can use one or more of these options.

The entering of another question has been discussed and will be furtherdiscussed in Book II. Quality control options are to be covered inchapter 13, so we will only mention them here. In the quality controlmenu, AC can enable Rex to enter a variety of different comments aboutthe actual answer, and can enable Rex to ask for a refund as well. Forexample, Rex can ask that the existing answer be updated and he canclaim a refund based on the existing answer being wrong.

As for IR's, the point to make here is that AC can register D-info fordesired improvements in an actual answer. After Rex has seen an answer,AC can enable him to select an Improvement Request “button” and enterthe improvement that he desires.

Improvements can be expressed in an endless variety of ways. AC caninclude a menu of standard descriptions, such as, “needs updating,”“needs source,” “needs date,” “needs additional information,” “needsmajor fix,” “needs minor fix,” and so on. In some cases, the improvementdesired will be obvious, in others, elaboration will be needed. Thus, ACcan enable Rex to enter a message expressing in his own words theimprovement he wants. Where elaboration is needed, we might say that theIR is a custom IR.

An IR is like a question in that it describes, asks for, part of ananswer. AC can create records, such as a D-record, based on an IR. Butan IR is not a separate question. AC does not take a user to an IR, asit takes a user to a question, and an answer is not supplied tocorrespond to an IR. When an improvement is entered, it is supplied tothe question that the actual answer was supplied to. It replaces theprevious answer, or is made part of the previous answer. (Sue also hasthe option of entering the improvement under a different question.)

An IR can be useful because it can enable Rex to offer to pay a certainamount for an improvement. (In this task a new question may be a betterway. Certain times though it may be more appropriate to enter a commentabout an existing answer, rather than enter a whole new question, askingfor an improvement.)

Rex's payment offer may be just for the improvement alone, meaning hewill pay the amount in addition to what he is willing to pay for therest of the existing answer. Or, Rex's offer may be for the wholeanswer, including the improvement. Thus, AC can enable Rex to identifywhether the offer is just for the improvement or for the full answeralong with the improvement.

AC can enable Rex to enter an IR when Rex see an answer. As discussed,it can enable him to press an IR button on screen and then choose fromstandard IR categories and also enter in his own words what is needed.In addition, he can also enter an offer to pay an amount for theimprovement described. As three examples, Rex might enter:

-   Improvement Request: Update as of 2:00 p.m.-   Payment Offer: $1-   Improvement Request: Please give location where temperature was    taken.-   Payment Offer: $1

As another example, Rex might enter:

-   Improvement Request: Please give source of the answer.-   Payment Offer: $1

AC can store the IR's under their standard category names. For example,under “Update,” AC can show all the requests for updates. These requestsmay include elaborations.

In order to collect demand for an imporvement that one Rex hasrequested, AC needs to enable other Rex's to state whether they wantthat improvement as well. Thus, AC can enable Rex's to see the IR's thathave been stored, and confirm whether they want the same improvementsthat have been requested. The improvements may not even have standardlabels, they may just be comments that are entered, along with paymentoffers. Thus demand for given improvements can be registered frommultiple Rex's.

Now when a potential Sue see the IR's for an answer, she can see whatimprovements various Rex's want. Further, she can ask to see a POE for agiven improvement. The POE can be based on the D-info collected for thecorresponding IR. For example, she might see that ten Rex's have askedthat the source of the answer be given, and that, in total, they arewilling to pay $4 for seeing that improvement. She might then supply thesource of the answer.

How can AC calculate a POE based on an IR, a POE for a requestedimprovement that is? A brief digression is in order (this digressionshould go in chapter 9 about the POE, however, that chapter is not yetwritten). This digression will not clear up the matter, but only pointout some of the problems involved.

Brief Digression: The POE for an Improved Answer

Once an actual answer has been supplied to a question, the POE generatedfrom D-info at that question is a POE for an improved answer, adifferent answer. But it is hard to define the differences betweenanswers. What is the POE, then, for an improved answer? In other words,what is an improvement worth? That depends on a variety of factors, suchas:

-   a. what the improvement is,-   b. how many people want it,-   c. how much are people willing to pay for it,-   d. what share of the royalties Sue is entitled to for supplying it.

Based upon her common sense and, perhaps, upon quality control commentsby Rex's, Sue needs to determine what improvements, if any, areprofitable to provide. It can help her, of course, if she sees how muchdissatisfied Rex's are willing to pay for the improvement(s) they want.Thus, IR's can help her guess the potential profit. Essential to herguess though are the meta rules defining what royalty credit she willget for providing an improvement. As is discussed in subsection 5.2e andin chapters 8 and 14, AC must have rules to deal with apportioningcredit for improvements—for giving credit, in certain cases, to the Sueof the answer that is improved upon.

The most clear-cut case is when an answer needs to be “completelyreplaced.” But there are endless situations for making improvementswithout replacing an answer entirely. Because the possible improvementsare so diverse, there are no general rules for how to pay forimprovements, and therefore, there are no general rules for calculatingthe POE of a given improvement. Just as with the calculation of a POEfor a completely new answer, the calculation of a POE for an improvementon an existing answer requires rules that are developed from experienceand testing.

Generally, any POE will be based on all the D-info gathered in aQ-record, not just the D-info gathered for one actual answer. And,generally, the POE will be some percentage of the POE for a completelynew answer.

6.2B Registering Price Information

Price

Now it is clear that the price of an answer is critical demandinformation. Yet, as discussed above, it is not so clear what a pricemeans, at least in the philosophical sense of what it means in the mindsof buyers. In the practical sense of how prices are implemented in AC,the definition of price is fairly clear: the price of an answer is theamount of money the answer sells for at a given time to a given user.

On the other hand, there is often no such thing as a fixed price, oreven a single price for an answer. And in that sense, the meaning ofprice is different than what we normally think of. As explained in thenext chapter on price setting, there can be a wide variety of pricingschemes. The price amount can differ from one point in time to anotherand from one user to another. Rather than think of a price as a priceon, say, a box of cereal, we should think of price offers andacceptances of those offers. These can vary from moment to moment andfrom person to person (they can be fairly static as well, of course).Thus when we say “price” we often mean a price offer or a pricethreshold. So the term price can be a little confusing.

AC registers price offer information in the D-record of a givenquestion. Obviously, if offers and acceptances change over time, therewill be various selling prices and price offers for an answer in therecord. (Note, when the price of an answer is basically static and usersknow it in advance, then it not need be in the D-record, for it can beassumed in the POF that applies to the answer.)

Static, Pre-Set Prices Often Impractical

As described in chapter 2, AC did not gather price information fromrequesters. It was assumed that the price of an answer was set and Rexcould take it or leave it. Prices can be set for broad categories ofanswers, and thus a user can know the price in advance, as a personusually knows the charges involved when calling directory assistance orwhen using an online service that charges by the minute.

Often though, it is impractical set a price for a category of answers.Similar type answers may have very different values and prices. Forexample, the phone number of the President's barber might cost 5 centswhile the phone number of the President might cost $5,000.

Moreover, the cost of finding an answer is often unknown in advance andso setting the price in advance is unreasonable. Then, after the answeris found, it is often impractical to set a static price because theamounts that various users are willing to pay is also unknown.

Often it is not desirable the let Rex know the price(s) others have paidfor an answer. If Rex knows that some people have paid, say, two centsfor an answer he might not want to pay more, even though he might haveoriginally been willing to pay more. So when Rex is at a question, ACmay not show him a price for the answer.

Price Tests

When the price of an answer is not known in advance by Rex, it is usefulto gather information on what he is willing to pay for the answerbecause this information can be used to arrive at a POE. (Theinformation can be used to set the price of the answer as well.)

Now since AC can't read minds, it must perform what we will call pricetests. These will not reveal exactly what people are willing to pay, butthey seem to be the best that can be done. There are two fundamentalprice tests.

One test is where the system (the seller) offers a price for an answerand Rex (the buyer) can accept or reject the price. We say price whenthe system makes an offer, for it is an amount that Rex can accept orreject.

The other is where Rex offers a price and the system can accept it,reject it, or simply register it. When Rex makes an offer, we say thatAC has a price threshold in the sense that if Rex's offer is over thethreshold, AC accepts Rex's price. If the answer is not in the system,AC usually does not need to accept or reject the offer but just recordthe offer in the D-record.

In both kinds of test AC registers Rex's identity so that follow-upactions can be taken, if called for. Some of these are seen in the pricetesting sequences described below. (As noted, AC registers Rex'sidentity for other reasons as well.)

The world of commerce has evolved a great variety of price offers andcounter offers for sale situations. Earnest money can be pledged, timelimits can be imposed, letters of intent can be written, discounts canbe given, and so forth. Many of these aspects of offers can incorporatedinto price offers and into price testing sequences in AC. Here we willdescribe mainly the basics, in which either the system makes an offer orRex makes an offer. We will include some additions, and will discusscounter-offers, but we realize that a great number of variations arepossible.

Price tests must occur in a series of steps between two parties which wecall price testing sequences. There are many commands AC can include forenabling Rex to make and accept price offers. The simplest is a GetAnswer command, which can imply the acceptance of an offer, and whichcan be used in conjunction with making a price offer. However, there arenumerous specialized commands that AC can include that are tailored forgiven price testing sequences. We do not describe these in any detail,but assume that AC includes command for executing the price testingsequences described.

We will describe some basic sequences, but before doing that, let uselaborate a little on the price tests themselves.

System-Offer Price Tests

To repeat from above, in a system-offer price test AC makes Rex an offerwhich he can accept or reject. When we say that AC makes an offer, wemean that the AC (or Sue using AC) presents a price to Rex.

Rex can accept or reject or even ignore the offer. AC requires means andrules for classifying Rex's behavior. The problem is that if Rex ignoresthe offer, AC cannot register whether Rex rejected the price or rejectedthe answer for some other reason. This issue is taken up after pricetests. For now we assume that AC include means for enabling Rex toexplicitly reject the offer, such as a reject button. Further, AC mayinclude defaults for assuming that Rex has rejected the price.

AC's price or price threshold may be set by a price setting formula, bya system manager, or by a Sue. If Sue is setting the price, she is usingAC as a medium. If AC is setting the price, it is acting as an agent forSue. Whatever the method, we will, for convenience, say that AC has setthe price. From the point of view of price testing sequences it is thesame.

AC registers the total number of requests along with theacceptance/rejection rate at given prices, and of course actual sales,if there are any, at given prices.

AC can present different prices for an answer to different requesters,in order to experiment with the effect of those prices on the POE.Experimentation can be critical to doing a good job of setting the priceof an answer and of estimating the income of an answer.

(Note: For simplicity, we ignore the fact that AC can present more thanone price to a single Rex. AC can present more than one price because ACmay include price plans that allow for this. As with prices for airlineflights, the price for the same flight can vary, for example, dependingon when one flies. The price of an answer can vary for many reasons. Wedo not go into this because it is beside the main point, yet we notethat AC can present more than a single price to the same person.)

Requestor-Offer Price Tests

As noted above, a Rex-offer price test means that Rex makes an offerthat AC can accept or not. (In this case AC will have set a pricethreshold.) The basic idea behind a Rex-offer test is simply that AC canregister what each Rex says he will pay.

Rex's offer is not just talk. If the answer is in the system, and if theoffer is accepted by AC, Rex is charged the amount offered and gets theanswer. If the answer is not in the system, he can place an order at acertain price (see Placing an Order above). Further, he can commit tobuying at a certain price for a certain period of time (see Making aCommitment above).

Apart from an actual price test, AC may also enable Rex to state hisopinion of what is a reasonable price. This opinion is simply Rex'sjudgment and not an offer. It can be important D-info in certain cases.AC can enable Rex to both make an offer and state an opinion.

AC can enable Rex to do all of the above at the same time:

-   a. make a binding offer at a certain price in the present,-   b. place an order at a certain price,-   c. commit to paying a certain price, for a certain time period, and-   d. state an opinion as to a reasonable price.

AC can have an offer buttons that Rex selects to enter a price offer.When he selects this, AC presents him with a price offer form.

Digression About Having a Variety of Prices for the Same Answer

Let us digress for a moment to discuss the idea of selling an answer atdifferent prices to different people. This idea is well known. However,it can be taken much farther in AC than it is normally taken, becauseusers may not be told what other users have offered and paid for givenanswers. To give but a small example, imagine four people stuck in atraffic jam. One is a high-powered executive on the way to an importantmeeting. She might be willing to pay $50 to find out an official guessas to when the traffic will clear. Another person might just be hot andsweaty and damn frustrated, and willing to pay $5 to get goodinformation about the jam up. A third person might just like to knowwhen he'll get home but is not willing to pay more than 50 cents to findout. And a fourth might be a very calm naturally and a student ofmeditation. She might be willing to pay a nickel to find out about thetraffic jam. The same answer can have a very different value todifferent people and AC can take advantage of this to get a much greatertotal amount offered for the answer than under a one price for allscheme. It is quite conceivable that one person would pay $50, another$5 cents, another 50 cents, and another 5 cents for the same answer,even at the same time, given that AC can accept all these offers. Ineffect, AC can conduct individual negotiations with each buyer.

Of course people would have an incentive to find out what other peoplehave paid for an answer and so AC can include methods can to preventthis from happening (see Secrecy Issue below). But before an answer isin the system, even if a person knows that others have offered less forthe answer, that person may want to offer more to increase the chancesthat the answer gets in the system.

6.2b1 Price Testing Sequences

Price tests must occur within a sequence of steps, for they are aninteraction between two parties, Rex and AC (remember, AC means AC or aSue using AC as a medium). We will describe some basic sequences inwhich Rex or AC make offers. Then we will describe some counter-offerpossibilities. Before describing any sequences, some more context ishelpful.

Whether Answers are In AC or Not

For price testing, it can matter if the answer is in AC or not. Forexample, take the answer to the question, What time does “The RockfordFiles” start tonight?. After this answer is in the system, AC might havea price set for it. But before it is in the system, AC might ask Rex tomake an offer. Different price tests can be used before and after theanswer is in AC. Or, the same price test can be used before and after.

There are four possibilities:

Before Answer Is In After Answer Is In 1) AC makes offer AC makes offer2) AC makes offer Rex makes offer 3) Rex makes offer AC makes offer 4)Rex makes offer Rex makes offerWhether Rex Knows if the Answer is in AC

It can also matter if the price test is done before telling Rex whetheror not the answer is in the system. That's because Rex may make a loweroffer if he knows that the answer is in the system. Thus we double thenumber of possible sequences by which price tests can be done, if weinclude the fact that Rex is told or not told before the test whetherthe answer is in the system.

AC can register whether the price test was done before or after theanswer was in the system. AC can also register whether or not Rex knewif the answer was in the system at the time of the test.

Price Setting Assumed but Not Shown

The price offers and price thresholds can be set in various ways: by thesystem manager, by Sue, by a price setting formula, or by somecombination of these. We omit the setting of a price or threshold butassume that that step is taken at appropriate times (see Price Settingin the next chapter).

Feedback is inherent in the process. Price offers and price thresholdsare set and then tests are done. The test results can then lead to thesetting of new prices and new thresholds. Then new tests are done. Andso on.

Changing Offer Assumed but Not Shown

We assume that if AC enables Rex to make an offer that it enables him tochange an offer. Of course the rules for changing offers can vary. Inthe case of binding commitments, Rex can usually increase his offer, buthe might suffer a penalty for decreasing it. The ability to make otherchanges is important too, such as lowering or raising the price of anon-binding offer.

Other Omissions

In the sequences described below we avoid repeating steps previouslyshown; the point is to show the new steps. So we assume that a givenquestion location has already been created complete with D-record.

We also omit certain transactional steps that are taken to beunderstood. For example, where Rex commits to buying an answer, we donot show the system charging Rex when the answer arrives and we do notshow what the system does when the commitment expires. Likewise, we donot show the canceling of orders or the expiration of commitments. Themain point is to show the kind of price information AC can register.That said, it helps to remember that this information can involvetransactions.

Some Price Testing Sequences

Below we describe some sequences that demonstrate the steps that AC caninclude for carrying out price tests and registering price informationin the D-record. We illustrate enough to get the basic steps across,while we recognize that many other permutations are possible.

In the sequences, when we say that Rex does something, we mean both thathe does something and that AC includes functions for enabling him to doso.

As mentioned, Rex is either told or not told before a price test whetheror not the answer is in the system. In some of the sequences below he istold, in others not. It is of course an easy matter to do the sequencesvice versa with respect to showing Rex whether the answer is in thesystem.

FIG. 5 a shows a sequence in which only AC makes an offer and in whichAC does not tell Rex whether or not the answer is in the system.

1) AC presents 210 a price to Rex.

2) Rex accepts 211 or rejects 211 the offer.

3) If Rex rejects the price, AC registers 212 the rejection at thatprice, calculates 218 the POE, and outputs 219 the POE.

4) If Rex accepts the price, AC registers 213 the acceptance at thatprice, and then checks 214 to see if the answer is in the system. If theanswer is not found, AC tells 215 Rex and then calculates and outputsthe POE. If the answer is found, AC outputs 216 the answer, registers217 the charge due to Rex and the royalty due to the supplier and,calculates and outputs the POE.

FIG. 6 b shows a sequence where Rex makes an offer before the answer isin the system and AC makes an offer after the answer is in. Further,before the price test, AC tells Rex whether or not the answer is in thesystem.

1) AC checks 220 if the answer is in the system.

2) If the answer is in, AC tells 221 Rex and presents 222 a price.

3) Rex accepts 223 or rejects 223 the price. If Rex rejects it, thesystem registers 224 the rejection at that price and calculates andoutputs the POE. If Rex accepts the price, AC registers 225 theacceptance at that price, outputs the answer, registers charges androyalties and calculates and outputs the POE.

4) Now, if the answer is not in the system, AC tells 226 Rex that answeris not in. AC then asks 227 Rex to make an offer. Here, as shown, ACincludes steps for enabling Rex to make various offers:

-   a. AC can register 228 a non-binding offer. Here Rex expresses what    he says he is willing to pay (places an order and states a price).-   b. AC can register 229 a binding offer to pay an amount up until a    certain time. In this offer Rex not only states an amount he will    pay but states a period of time his commitment is valid until.-   c. AC can register 230 binding offers that include a commitment of    earnest money.-   d. AC can register 231 Rex's opinion as to a reasonable price for    the answer.

As usual, once AC registers Rex's offer, AC calculates and outputs thePOE.

FIG. 5 c shows a sequence in which AC makes an offer before the answeris in, and in which Rex makes an offer after the answer is in. In thissequence Rex is not told before the price test whether the answer is inthe system.

The main new feature here concerns Rex's offer. In addition to askingfor an offer, AC includes steps for limiting the number of offers Rexcan make. If Rex can make unlimited offers when an answer is in thesystem, Rex will start low and keep going up. Rex will try to discoverAC's price threshold (“bottom line”). Thus, the system needs to limitthe number of offers Rex can make. This concern does not apply usuallywhen the answer is not in the system because then the answer may have nothreshold attached to it.

The sequence in FIG. 5 c limits Rex to one offer. (FIG. 6 d shows asequence for limiting Rex to one offer per a set period of time.)

1) AC checks 240 to see if the answer if found.

2) If the answer is not in the system, AC presents 241 a price to Rex.

3) Rex and accepts or rejects the price.

4) AC then registers 242, 243 whether the price is accepted or rejectedand tells 244 Rex that the answer is not in the system and thencalculates and outputs a POE (we note that, as usual, Rex's identity isrecorded as well).

5) Now if the answer is in; the system, AC checks 245 whether Rex hasmade a previous offer. If yes, AC tells 246 Rex that he is ineligible tomake an offer and then, as usual, the system calculates and outputs aPOE. In this case AC also tells whether the answer is in or not sinceRex may want to supply it.

6) If Rex has not made an offer, AC asks 247 Rex to make an offer. ACthen registers 248 the offer.

7) AC then accepts or rejects the offer. If the offer is rejected, ACtells 249 Rex that the offer is rejected and registers 250 that Rex hasmade an offer for this answer. Then, as usual, AC calculates and outputsa POE. If the offer is accepted, AC outputs 251 the answer, registersthe charges and royalties due, and calculates and outputs the POE.

FIG. 5 d shows a sequence in which only Rex makes an offer. In thissequence Rex is not told before the price test if the answer is in thesystem. Here steps are shown that limit Rex to making one offer perperiod of time. The point, as mentioned previously, is to limit thenumber of offers that Rex can make in order to get Rex to make a higheroffer. We note that, as shown, if Rex makes an offer before the answeris in the system then this offer is not subject to a time periodprohibition. Rex is free to make a different offer once the answer isin.

1) AC checks 260 whether Rex has made an offer that has been rejected.

2) If Rex has never made an offer before that has been rejected, thesystem asks for an offer, registers the offer and checks to see if theanswer is the system.

3) If Rex has made an offer that has been rejected, AC checks 261 to seeif the pre-determined time period has expired.

4) If the time period has not expired, AC tells 262 Rex that he cannotmake another offer and, as usual, calculates and outputs a POE.

5) If the time period has expired, AC asks 263 Rex to make an offer. Thesystem registers 264 the offer. AC then checks 265 to see if the answeris in the system.

If the answer is not in the system, AC tells 266 Rex that the answer isnot found and, as usual, calculates and outputs a POE.

If the answer is in the system, AC checks 267 the price threshold andaccepts or rejects the offer. If the system rejects the offer, it tells268 Rex that the offer is rejected and sets 269 a time period for whenRex can make another offer for the answer, and, as usual, calculates andoutputs a POE.

If the system accepts the offer, it outputs the answer and registerscharges and royalties and calculates and outputs a POE.

6.2b2 Counter Offers

AC can make counter offers and enables Rex to make counter offers. And,of course, AC registers these offers.

We will describe the basic counter offer situations below. Rather thanrepeat the sequences above, we will consider two general situations: onewhere Rex has rejected AC's offer and the other where AC has rejectedRex's offer.

We don't go into counter counter offers because the principles are thesame, except that AC would place limits one how many rounds of offersthere could be per period of time. (Note: if Sue is doing the pricesetting AC can leave it up to her to decide how to conduct thenegotiations.)

Situation 1: AC Presents a Price and Rex Rejects it

If Rex rejects AC's price offer, Rex can make a counter offer. In fact,Rex can make a few offers:

-   a. He can make a counter offer good for that moment.-   b. He can place an order, saying in effect, call me when you've    lowered the price.-   c. He can commit to paying a lower amount than AC's current price.

These are all offers that have been discussed above. Because of theirplace in a price testing sequence, a negotiation, they are calledcounter offers here.

AC can immediately accept or reject the counter offer. If AC rejects thecounter offer, AC can call Rex back when AC's price drops.

A second kind of counter offer is actually one that AC can make. Asnoted, AC may have a reject button that Rex can select. By pushing thisbutton, Rex simply indicates that the price is too high, but he does notmake a counter offer. In this case, AC can make a counter offer (asecond offer) by immediately lowering its price. If AC has thisprocedure, it must also have rules for making Rex take a risk (or assumesome cost) for rejecting AC's initial offer. Otherwise, Rex will alwaysreject AC's initial offer. For example, AC can have a rule whereby Rexhas a chance of not being entitled to buy the answer for a period oftime if he rejects the initial price.

Situation 2: Rex Offers a Price and AC Rejects it

If AC rejects Rex's offer, AC can make a two basic counter offers:

-   a. AC can present a price above Rex's offer.-   b. AC can ask Rex to make a new offer.

Rex can accept the new offer. He can make a new offer. He can place anorder. And he can make a commitment.

Re-Contacts

Now when Rex rejects AC's price when AC rejects Rex's offer AC canregister Rex's identity in order to possibly recontact him when AC'sprice or price threshold drops (this possibility was noted above in thediscussion of the prospect list). If AC recontacts Rex then both partiesare can make new offers.

Real Time Negotiations

AC can be looked at as an agent for Sue but it can also be looked at asa medium. As such, it enables Rex and Sue to engage in real timenegotiations. In other words, Rex and Sue can make offers and counteroffers without significant delay. This just means that the process ofoffer and counter offer is in real time. It does not change thesequence. AC may enable users to see each other or talk to each otherdirectly. (It also means that it is Sue, and not AC, who is setting theprices and price thresholds.)

6.3 Registering the Buying Situation of a Request

We return now to the issue of characterizing requests, with respect towhether Rex wants to buy or whether he has other intentions.

Let us back up for a moment and recall the prime goal of the system: toforecast sales. The central problem then is: what sales does a requestforetell?

AC's approach is to register various D-info in addition to the fact ofthe request, and use that information in a POF. The point here is thatRex's request represents a potential sale to Rex, and it also mayrepresent (correlate with) sales to potential future buyers.

The most important thing to determine then is whether Rex wants to buythe direct answer to the current-Q. Recall, the foundation task of thesystem is to count how many people want to buy an answer. Though otherkinds of interest, such as browsing without the intention to buy, may beimportant to register, the intent to buy is usually the most importantthing.

Because a large percentage—no one can say what percentage—of therequests are for answers that are not in the system, AC needs todifferentiate, at least on a statistical basis, between the requests ofwindow shoppers and live prospects.

And yet, we know that in many cases there will be no way to tell whatRex's intentions are, whether he wants to buy or not, at any price.

AC cannot read Rex's mind. It can only characterize a request accordingto facts that it registers about the request. What facts then?

Now we know that the significance of a request—what sales the requestforetells—depends on the circumstances that the request is made in. Forexample, if someone walks into Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue and asks to seea silver necklace, that request has a different significance than if thesame person asks to see a diamond necklace. And that request has adifferent significance than if the same person walks into Schraft's andasks for a malted milk. We know there are differences even though wecannot measure them. We can however register the facts of a large numberof situations and then see if the facts foretell anything on astatistical basis.

More important than the type of merchandise (answer) usually is whetherRex is under an obligation to buy. If he is obliged to buy when themerchandise (answer) is in stock then that obviously has a differentsignificance than if he is not obliged.

There are innumerable many factors that involved in a buying situation.We cannot list them call, and AC cannot register them all. But AC canregister certain key facts that are common to such situations. We willlook at some of these facts below. Before doing so, let us discuss thegeneral idea of a buying situation, restricted to certain kinds ofinformation: what Rex knows when he arrives at a question, what he sees,and what he does. We will then describe some features AC can include forgetting Rex to declare his buying interest. And after that, we will listkey “buying situation” facts that AC can register.

The Importance of the Buying Situation

Let's pretend Rex walks into a bookstore and tells the clerk the title(Q-string) of a book he wants. The clerk takes Rex to the book. Rexdoesn't look inside the book but he reads the back cover (A-stats)information which, let's say, includes a price. Rex then leaves thebookstore without the book. Now did he leave without the book becausethe price was too high? Or because of something he read in the backcover? Or because he was just browsing with no real intention of buying?

What if the back cover has references to other similar books. And whatif Rex doesn't leave but asks the clerk about one of those books? Again,why does he reject the first book?

For a variety of reasons, he may not want to buy the answer thatcorresponds to the question he is at. His intentions cannot be capturedby any set of simple rules. If Rex does not indicate why he rejects ananswer, no one can tell whether it was because of the price or for someother reason. (Even when Rex does tell, he may be lying.)

And things are stranger in AC than in a typical bookstore where oneusually knows if a book is in stock. AC is vast Borgesian bookstorewhere the shelves are full of potential books with only a smattering ofactual books sprinkled in.

The best AC can do is register the key actions that Rex takes and thekey pieces of information Rex has seen when he takes those actions (whathe did and what he knew at the time). For example, in the scenarioabove, AC would register that Rex left without buying the book and thatthe price of the book was presented to Rex.

Some Basic Buying Situations Rex Can be in

We will illustrate some basic buying situations to show how thesignificance of Rex's request depends on Rex's situation. When we sayingbuying situation we mean what Rex does at a question and what he knowswhen he does it.

The focus here is on whether Rex has any interest in buying. We limitthe discussion to a small set of factors while realizing that manyothers may indicate buying interest and may correlate with future sales.

How can AC tell if Rex has any interest in buying an answer? Sometimesit seems clear he has no interest, other times it seems clear he does,and other times it is unclear. We look first at the situations whereRex's interest in buying or not buying seems clear. Then we look atsituations where his interest unclear.

Note: when we say below that Rex “knows” whether the answer is in thesystem, we mean that AC has shown him whether the answer is in. When wesay he “does not know” we mean that AC has not told him one way or theother. Now, he may have a guess based on the real world aspects of theanswer but we are not referring to this guess, only to what AC has shownRex. Note also: we use the term seems because Rex's intentions are nevercertain, except perhaps when he actually buys.

It Seems Clear That Rex Does Not Want to Buy

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   AC shows him that the answer is in the system, and    -   AC asks him to make an offer, and    -   He does not make an offer,    -   Then it seems clear that he has no interest in buying the        answer.

(If the question is linked to another question or questions, Rex mightmake an offer for an indirect answer. That is another matter. But hestill seems to have no interest in a direct answer to the question he isat.)

It Seems Clear That Rex Does Want to Buy

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   He makes any kind of binding offer, whether it is for buying the        answer immediately or whether it is a future commitment,    -   Then it seems clear that he wants to buy (at least for the        period of the commitment).

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   He knows the answer is in, and    -   He accepts AC's price,    -   Then it seems clear that he wants to buy (after all, he does        buy).

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   He does not know if the answer is in (he thinks it may be in),        and    -   He accepts AC's price,    -   Then it seems clear that he wants to buy.        It Is Unclear Whether Rex Wants to Buy or Not

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   He knows the answer is not in, and    -   He does not make an offer or does not respond to AC's price,    -   Then we cannot be sure whether he is interested in buying the        answer.

The problem here is that if Rex knows that an answer is not in thesystem, he may feel no incentive to make an offer or to reject or accepta price. He may feel it is a waste of his time to even bother. Like anyshopper or bidder, he might want to know that a piece of merchandise isavailable before he bothers with the price.

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   He does not know whether the answer is in, and    -   He does not make an offer or does not respond to AC's price,    -   Then we cannot be sure whether he is interested in buying the        answer.

He might not want to bother making an offer or rejecting or accepting aprice if he isn't sure the answer is available.

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   He knows the answer is not in, and    -   He makes a non-binding offer (places an order),    -   Then we cannot be sure whether he is interested in buying the        answer.

In this situation, he may be lying intentionally or unintentionally,like any buyer who expresses interest in a product that may arrive atsome time in the future. His only cost is the time it takes to place theorder.

When Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   AC presents a price for Rex to accept, and    -   He does not respond to AC's price,    -   Then we cannot be sure if he is rejecting the answer or the        price.

The problem here is that Rex may feel no incentive to explicitly rejectthe price and no incentive to make a counter offer. He may just notbother expressing any interest explicitly. Like any shopper who sees anitem that he wants but that he thinks is priced too high, he may just goon to the next item without saying a word. This reasoning applieswhether or not the answer is in and whether or not Rex knows whether theanswer is in.

Some Rules and Functions and Options for Getting Rex to Declare HisInterest

Given that in a variety of basic buying situations Rex may feel no needto express his buying interest explicitly, the ideal is for AC to readRex's mind. That ideal will have to wait. In the meantime, AC caninclude various functions and options for getting Rex to declareinterest in an answer, wheher it is missing or actual. Below we listsome of these.

“Reject Price” Button. AC can include a button that Rex can press tosignify that he is rejecting the price of an answer. (AC can includeother reject buttons so Rex can express other reasons for rejecting ananswer.)

Browse Mode. As noted, AC can include a separate mode where users browsequestions. AC can enable Rex to switch in and out of browse mode withthe press of a button. So it is easy for Rex to tell AC whether he isbrowsing or not. (AC might also register when Rex is browsing aquestion. Though browsing is not considered a request for an answer, thenumber of people who browse a question and their rate of browsing can besignificant D-info.) The difference between browsing and “activelylooking” for an answer is often unclear. If AC is to have a browse mode,AC needs meta-rules for defining browsing. AC may even include different“levels” of browsing. And AC can enable users to say, at a givenquestion, whether they are browsing that question or not.

Offer Palette. AC can include a palette for making price offers. Thepalette can include set price levels. This allows Rex to “click on” anoffer, rather than entering one manually. It is a small difference butit may be enough to overcome his laziness.

Get Price Button. AC can include a button for getting the price of ananswer. If Rex bothers to get the price of an answer it may mean he hassome interest in buying.

Minimum Bid. AC can show Rex an amount that is the minimum offer Rex canmake. Otherwise Rex may intentionally make an extremely low offer thattells little about his interest in buying the answer.

Price Shown Only After a Binding Offer. AC can show Rex the price onlyafter Rex makes a binding offer. Otherwise Rex can see the price anddoes not have to react to it. This way, by making an offer, he must showsome interest. As noted, AC can stipulate a minimum bid.

Survey. AC can a conduct survey asking Rex why he rejected an answer andproviding a form for Rex to check-off the appropriate reason. AC canconduct such a survey randomly and use the data to create statistics forclassifying requests.

Information AC Can Register About Rex's Buying Situation

We have described some basic buying situations above. These arecharacterized by what Rex does at a question and what he knows when hedoes it. As mentioned, the details of a sales situation can varytremendously. Even though we have given the logical outlines ofoffer/counter offer situations, we have not captured any extra details.These details can be critical in compiling reliable statistics. Forexample, the statistics would be different for an answer costing 10cents than one costing $10.

Below we list some key types buying situation information. The listbelow is not exhaustive. Other types of information can be registered.Most is repeated from above, some is not, and some from above isomitted. In the relevant situations then, AC can register the followinginformation about Rex and his request:

-   Which search stats did he use to arrive at the question?-   Which A-stats did he see at the question?-   Was the answer in the system?-   Did the A-stats tell him whether the answer was in the system?-   Was a price presented to him automatically?-   Did he ask for the price?-   Was a price presented to him? If so, what was it?-   Did he accept the price?-   Did he make a counter offer? If so, what was it?-   Was his counter offer accepted?-   Was his counter offer rejected? If so, how low was it compared to    the price?-   Was he asked to make an offer?-   Did he make an offer? If so, what was it?-   Was his offer accepted?-   Was his offer rejected? If so, how low was it compared to the price    threshold?-   Did he place an order? If so, did he state a price? If so, what was    the price?-   Did he make a commitment? If so, did he state a price? If so, what    was the price?-   Did he know before he arrived whether the answer was in the system?    (This can be relevant because AC can enable users to screen    questions based on whether they have direct answers. Also, as    discussed in section 5.1, AC can enable users to see whether    questions that can be selected have answers.)-   Did he know before he arrived what the price of the answer was? If    so, what was it?-   Did he know before he arrived that he would have to make an offer?-   Did he enter a new question? If so, which one?-   Did he travel to a linked question? If so, which one?-   Did he come from a linked question? If so, which one?-   Did he make an indirect o-request? If so, what search stats, did he    enter?

(Omitted here is information about alternative answers. This kind ofinformation can be very important. The registering of this informationis discussed in Book II.)

6.4 Demand Statistics

Not all D-info is stored in the D-records of individual questions. ACcompiles demand statistics based on the information in large numbers ofD-records. The are used in the POF as historical information.

The topic of demand statistics will only be touched on briefly.Statistics for projections, like formulas for projections, can vary toomuch to be described. Further, as noted, an evolutionary approach isbest, where the predictive value of given statistics is tested. Thepoint here is simply that in order to come up with good POF's, AC needsto compile statistics on a great number of situations in order tocompare a given situation to similar situations in the past.

Population Statistics

AC can compile what we might call population statistics. These are basedon the requests of large numbers of people in a great variety ofsituations. AC can examine similar patterns of request information thatoccur in a large number of D-records, and then check to see what thesales were in these similar situations. In other words, AC can see howactual sales correlate with certain patterns of request information.

For example, AC can examine all cases where a question has a single MMAo-miss request and see what that “predicts” for sales of thecorresponding answer. An MMA o-miss will likely have differentpredictive value than an HMA o-miss. Moreover, the value of an MMAo-miss will also depend on how many other o-misses were registered dueto the o-request that was involved (see section 5.3). Likewise, an MMAo-miss that was registered along with two other MMA o-misses will havedifferent value than an MMA o-miss that registered along with a thousandother MMA o-misses.

These are tiny examples. The point is that request information can varywidely. The only way for AC to develop discount statistics to evaluatedifferent requests is to compile sales information on large numbers ofcases. The factors that can be examined will explode, but patternsshould emerge.

Individual Buyer Stats

It is useful for AC to compile statistics on the buying behavior ofindividuals as well. Such statistics can be used to develop populationbased statistics. Just as in baseball we can develop statistics aboutthe chances that any player will get a hit, we can also developstatistics for individual players. What is the individual's chance ofmaking a hit? We can further refine those statistics by given situation,for example, what are the chances of getting a hit with runners inscoring position?. As we know from something like baseball, innumerablestatistics can be developed that may help predict performance. In AC,performance means sales.

However, where an individual is concerned, AC may not be able to seewhat sales are in many cases because often the individual does not buyin a given situation, and may not even be able to buy because the givenanswer is missing. Nevertheless, AC can develop statistics based on theindividual's behavior.

Consider the situation where Rex arrives at a question and:

-   -   AC shows him that the answer is not in the system, and    -   he did not know before arriving whether the answer was in, and    -   he makes no offer.

Now, how does AC evaluate whether Rex has any interest in buying theanswer based on his past behavior ?

One way is to have AC check past behavior in situations where:

-   -   Rex arrives at a question, and    -   AC shows the user that the answer is in the system, and    -   Rex did not know before arriving whether the answer was in.        AC can then see what percentage of the time he made an offer in        these situations. AC can then discount the request where AC        shows that the answer is missing by the same percentage. Now        this is not an ideal discount factor, for many other factors can        come into play. We are just giving an example.

Rex's buyer stats may be stored in a record about him and then pulled,as relevant, to discount his requests for different answers. Therelevant statistic depends of course on the given buying situation Rexis in.

Examples Individual Buyer Stats

We give some examples below that show how AC can use the D-infodiscussed above. AC can keep statistics that answer the followingquestions about Rex.

-   What percentage of the time does he buy an answer that he has placed    an order for?

(To give an idea of the importance of these kinds of statistics,consider: If one user buys an answer 1% of the time when he places anorder, then we see that, price being equal, the value of his request isless than that of someone who buys 10% of the time he places an order.)

-   What percentage of the time does he buys when he has made a    commitment to buy?-   When rejects a price, what percentage of the time does he buy later    for less?-   What percentage of the time does he buy when he knows an answer is    in?-   What percentage of the time does he buy a linked alternative answer?-   What percentage of the time does he buy an answer when he doesn't if    it is in?-   What is his ratio of requests to purchases?-   How does his behavior change depending on the price he is presented    and the price he is offered?

Answers to these kinds of questions about Rex's past behavior can enableAC to make a better guess about the value of a request by Rex. Ofcourse, we are not even scratching the surface, just giving severalexamples.

6.5 Information About Alternative Answers

Knowing about the alternatives to a product can be important forguessing what the sales of that product will be. In AC, the products areanswers and the principle is the same. And so, in the D-record of agiven question and answer, AC can register information about answersthat are alternatives to that answer.

When we say alternatives, we mean alternatives as represented byquestions and Q-records. The answers may or may not be in the system. Wemean the actual and potential answers, as represented by questions anddescribed by the A-stats.

Taking a physical product example, someone who expresses interest inbuying a certain shirt at a department store might also have expressedinterest in buying other shirts. The value of the expression of interestin that certain shirt depends on how many other shirts the person hasexpressed interest in and on whether those shirts are in stock and onwhether he prefers them and on other factors. Likewise, a person whoexpresses interest in buying an answer about a shirt may expressinterest in an buying answers about other shirts. The value of hisinterest in that certain answer will depend on whether the other answersare in the system and on a variety of other factors.

The alternatives to answers in AC can be harder to identify than thealternatives to physical products in the real world. That's not to saythat product situations are simple, for who is to say what all thealternatives are to a given product. However, there are usually far morealternatives to a given answer than to a given physical product becauseanswers are often easier to supply than physical products.

Moreover, AC does something that is not usually done in the world ofphysical products; it allows individuals to request their own versionsof the products they want and to state the requests for similar productsin a great variety of ways—ways that may or may not even seem similar.And so there can be a sea of alternative answers, the vast majority ofwhich are missing. In other words, we have a sea of potentialalternatives. This is a fundamental problem of AC: how to evaluateD-info in light of the multitude of alternatives that the D-info canapply to, and in light of the fact that preferable answers might besupplied at any time.

The problem gets worse when we consider that answers and A-stats can beeasily modified and that these modifications can change demanddramatically. For example, the price of an answer be changed.

Though the potential alternatives to a given answer may be very numerousin AC, that does not change the fact that it can be quite valuable togather information about these alternatives.

The D-info AC collects about alternatives can help Sue decide what todo. She may want to decide whether supplying an answer is worth hertime. Or she may already have supplied an answer and wants to see howthe competition is affecting the sales of her answer. Therefore, AC canenable her to:

-   a. see what some of the potential competition is,-   b. see the sales and POE of alternatives that are actually in the    system,-   c. see, perhaps, how the competition is pulling sales from her    answer.

Identifying alternatives is very important because of the problem ofphantom requests. Say Rex asks ten similar questions none of which hasan answer in AC, and say he only wants one answer. As noted in chapter4, asking a number of similar questions is the common way that peopleask for something, especially when they are not sure of the subject theyare asking about. Well, which answer does he want? We have the problemof phantom requests. Nine out of ten questions are phantom requests. Orare they? This is a big problem and we will address it in Book II.

Actually, we wait until Book II to address the whole issue of gatheringinformation on alternative answers. That's because the issue is moreimportant with linked questions and more explicit as well sincealternatives are often linked to each other.

The problem of factoring in alternatives is still important withnon-linked questions. It's just harder to collect information on thealternatives. Come-from-Q's and go-to-Q's are the most natural choicesto identify as alternatives. Thus these are registered in the Q-recordof a given question.

One way to handle the problem of factoring in alternatives is todiscount the value of requests. By discounting, it is assumed that acertain percentage of times that a request is registered, there is analternative answer that a user will prefer and find.

The “discount rate” for requests can be based on large statisticalsamples of requesters. However, we know that some people are more proneto being window shoppers than others. Thus, such discount rates will bemore accurate in general if they take into account the buying behaviorof individual buyers and apply a “user discount rate” based on anindividual user's buying habits. Additionally, the rate can be based onthe type of answer as well. In the world or physical products we knowthat some products, like jewelry, are more prone to attracting windowshoppers than others, like hamburgers.

As noted, the relevance of discount statistics and individual buyerstatistics depends on numerous factors because buying situations candepend on numerous factors, for more numerous than we can identify.Still such statistics can be helpful.

6.6 Time Effects, Re-Running Questions

As things change in the real world and in AC, questions and answerschange. Some answers become out of date. Others are improved. The storeof questions and answers grows.

As new questions and answers are entered, what then is the relevance ofpast D-info collected for older questions and answers? How do we applyD-info collected in the past to new questions and answers. How do weeven apply it to the questions and answers that existed when it wascollected? There is no good general solution to this problem. It isanother problem we will take up in more detail in Book II.

We mention one approach here that AC can take. AC can “re-run”questions, particularly MMA o-requests, from the past to see whichdifferent answers AC would have o-requested in the present. By “re-run”we mean that AC identifies the sources of o-requests and simulates thatthe o-requests have been entered again from those sources. AC then seeswhich answers are o-requested. The answers that are o-requested willchange over time. Thus AC can somewhat adjust the o-request tallies foranswers, at least with respect to MMA o-requests. For example, if MovieReview Casablanca? is the source of 1,000,000. o-requests over the pastyear, AC can periodically re-run those requests to see which reviews,missing and actual, AC would o-request given the present store ofmissing and actual reviews in the system. (How far back in time AC goesto get o-requests is an open problem. As with so many other rules, ACmust experiment.)

As another example, an FB-Q might be, What are the top ten companies inthe US by sales?. Now these companies change over time. And so when thisquestion is entered for the first time, AC sorts the existing companies(say they are in a table) and comes up with the top ten. Now if ACre-enters the FB-Q at a different time, AC might come up with adifferent top ten.

AC can enable Sue to ask that AC re-run o-requests in order to test whatthe effect will be on an answer Sue might supply. In other words, AC canenable Sue to enter a test question, as discussed in section 5.2, andthen see what the effect is of past o-requests. Sue can identify theseo-requests by their primary sources, but, more likely, she can choosequestions that she considers to be close alternatives to the questionshe plans to answer. AC can then check the D-records of these questionsfor MMA o-misses and o-hits. AC can then check for the primary sourcesof those o-misses and o-hits. And then AC can re-run those MMAo-requests to see whether Sue's new answer would be o-requested by thosesources.

6.7 Some Other Considerations

Changing Answers

If an answer changes, AC may nullify old offers both by itself and byRex. AC can then allow fresh negotiations and may alert Rex to thepossibility. The rules are of course variable.

Brief Note About Price Tests With Price Ranges

Normally a price offer is at a single price. However, AC may enable Rexto present an offer as a range, especially when an the answer requestedis not yet in the system. Like a poll taker who asks people what theyare willing to pay for an item, AC can ask in terms of price ranges.Moreover, AC can include a form by which Rex can check off ranges ratherthan enter a single figure.

A more novel idea is that AC can present an offer of a price range. Thatis because the nature of AC is such that a user may indeed end up payinga price that is in a range. Here we have the idea of projected price(see chapter 7 on Price Setting).

Secrecy Issue

Now if AC does not reveal its price threshold for an answer, findingthat threshold can be valuable to Rex. There is more information thatcan interest Rex: such as whether an answer is in the system and the POE(the POE may yield clues about whether an answer is in the system andabout the price threshold of an answer).

In many cases it will be best for AC to disclose all this information.The price, the POE and the presence or absence of an answer can helpusers, apart from buying answers. For example, a user in check modeneeds to see the POE's. As another example, Rex may want to screenanswers according to price range.

And yet oftentimes it will be useful to keep such information secret.There are no universal rules. In cases where secrecy is desired, AC canemploy security methods to stop Rex from cheating. Primarily these areauthentication techniques, because the key way people would cheat is touse confederates (or use the ID information of confederates). Rex canhave a confederate make a lowball offer in order to learn about a pricethreshold. In addition to authentication methods, AC may seek suspiciouscorrelations in the behavior of users because a cheater will likely havethe same person(s) cheating on a repetitive basis.

6.8 Investment Offers

AC can include means and rules for enabling Rex to invest in thesupplying of an answer. There are difficulties here as to the rules fordetermining which Sue would get to use the investment funds. We are notgoing to delve into this issue. Suffice to say that AC can include rulesfor the making and accepting of investment offers. These can be of majorimportance.

(See also Projected Price in chapter 7.)

Chapter 7 Price Setting in AC

AC sells answers and so those answers need to be priced.

A Quick Digression on the Difficulties of Pricing

Many problems of setting prices are the exact same as those of measuringdemand, for “measuring” demand really means trying to find out how muchpeople are willing to pay, in total, for something. As noted, the keyproblem is that we cannot read minds, for if we could, we would know howmuch a person was willing to pay for something. When setting a price,one can only guess.

And the problem is usually more complicated than that because there areusually multiple buyers, each who may be willing to pay a differentmaximum price.

Another complication is that the goal of setting prices is vague. Therecan be many goals. One is “profit maximization.” Here a seller tries tomake the most money. Another is “reasonable rate of return.” Here aseller just tries to recoup his effort plus a profit, adjusted perhapsfor the risk he has taken. Of course, deciding what a person's effort isworth is a subjective exercise, as is judging the risk taken.

Another complication is that to arrive at a “fair” price we may have tojudge what will be paid in total in the future. What will be paiddepends on the vagaries of the future and on the price itself.

Another complication is that one has to price with the competition inmind. Who the competition is may not be clear and, further, thecompetition may price in reaction to one's own price.

Let us add yet another complication. The effect of price on units soldis highly variable. There is no universal, smooth sales curve where agiven reduction in price means a given increase in units sold. Furtherthe effect of price on total sales income can be even more variable.

The problems above apply to the pricing of most goods and services andinformation. But information, answers, have another aspect that canfurther complicate the setting of prices. Unlike most goods andservices, information is easily copiable. This means that an answer canbe sold profitably at very different prices to different buyers. So thepricing of information can involve pricing schemes not usually seen inthe world of physical products.

Note on Definition of Price

In this section, we stick with the definition of price in the chapter 6:the amount that an answer is sold for to a given buyer at a given time.

However, in this chapter, when we say a price is set, that can mean aprice or price threshold. We say “price” often because it is easier thansaying “price or price threshold.”

The problem is that sometimes the idea of a threshold does not apply,for a price may be shown to all with no secret threshold and nonegotiation involved. Perhaps we should distinguish between open pricesand price thresholds. Sometimes we will use the term open price, butusually, for convenience, we will stick with the term price. It is hopedthat the reader will understand by the context where price thresholdsare inappropriate and open prices are the only choice.

7.1 Ways That Prices Can Vary in AC

The previous chapter showed how the concept of a single price isdeceptive. In reality, an answer may have many prices. An answer mayhave a single price for all buyers that remains fairly static. It mayhave a single price for all buyers but one that fluctuates rapidly. Ananswer can have multiple prices according to various factors. Below welist some of the ways that prices can vary. The point is simply to showthat prices can be set in AC using a great variety of schemes.

Prices that vary with sales. Where the price of an answer depends on theanswer's sales level. The price may rise or decline. It can also declineto zero after the answer has had a given amount of sales.

Prices that vary by date. Where the price of an answer depends on thedate it is sold.

Prices that vary by time of day. As in peak and off-peak.

Prices that vary by identity of buyer. For example, student rates.

Prices that vary according to the competition's prices. For example, ameet-the-competition rule.

Projected prices. Where a buyer can be rebated depending on future salesof an answer. We elaborate on this concept later, below.

Price Plans

Normally when we think of setting the price of something we think ofsetting one price at a given point in time. However, we can also thinkin terms of price plans where prices over time are set according to someformula. AC can have standard plans and can enable a supplier to pick agiven plan for an answer.

Price Per Answer or Per Period of Search Time

Normally when we think of setting the price of an answer, we think ofsetting a price for that individual answer. However, pricing per periodof search time is a popular and convenient method. In this method, theanswers outputted during a period of time to a given user are creditedaccording to the user's charges for that period. For example, if a usergets 10 answers in ten minutes and is charged $1 for those ten minutes,then each answer might get 10 cents royalty credit. How royalty creditis split among answers can vary.

The price of search time can vary in some of the same ways that theprice of an individual answer can vary.

Pricing by search time is a price category method of setting prices (seebelow).

7.2 Basic Ways Prices Can be Set

Basic Ways That AC Can Assign Prices and Price Thresholds to Answers

Given the wide variety of pricing schemes, what we are mainly concernedwith in this chapter is:

-   a) Who does the price setting, and-   b) What AC provided information can be used to do the setting.

There are three parties that AC can enable to set prices, whether beforeor after an answer is in the system. These apply for the changing ofprices as well. (As noted, we use the term price to mean open price andprice threshold.)

-   1. AC can have system operators set prices.-   2. AC itself can set prices using price setting formulas.-   3. AC can have suppliers set prices.

(Note: When a secret price threshold is set, a negotiation takes place.In this case, Rex makes an offer. In a sense then, Rex partiallydetermines the price that an answer is sold for. If his offer is abovethe threshold and the answer is in the system, he gets the answer. Bydetermining how far above the threshold price he is, he is alsopartially setting his own price, the actual price the answer is soldfor.)

Information Loop for Price Setting

Regardless of who sets the prices, the general information flow can be afeedback loop as follows:

-   Price setter sets price->Price test done->Price test data sent to    D-record->D-info in D-record sent to POF->POE calculated by POF->POE    sent to price setter for evaluation->Price setter sets price . . . .

This particular loop is not always mandatory, but what is mandatory isthat the relevant D-info registered by AC is made available to the pricesetter.

Note About Setting Prices Before or After an Answer is in the System

As seen in the previous chapter, the price of an answer can be setbefore or after the answer is in the system. If the price is set after,then there is no price before. A problem seems to exist as far as thePOE is concerned. If there is no price then how can there be a POE?

Well, the POF can include assumptions for guessing what the price willbe. These can use price test and historical information. The POF canalso give multiple POE's based on different prices and users can judgewhich price they think is most likely. Further, AC can enable users toplug their own price guesses into the POF to see different POE's.

1. System Operators Setting Prices

System operators cannot feasibly set individual prices for answers, butthey can define standard price categories, such as a one cent eachcategory, a five cent each category, a two dollar category, and so on.As noted above, a variation is charging a standard amount per period ofsearch time.

System operators can define price categories and then suppliers canchoose which categories to put their answers in. (An answer may be putin more than one category at a time.) In that way, the system operatorsand suppliers are setting prices together.

Categories may be defined not only by price but according to the contentof answers. In certain cases, suppliers may be forced to put certainkinds of answers in certain categories. For example, certain phonenumbers might have to cost a certain standard amount.

Now when we say price categories, we do not mean just one-price-for allcategories. Prices can vary in many ways. A price category is defined byknown rules that determine the prices of the answers in the category. Bythese rules, a user knows ahead of time how much a given answer in agiven category will cost for that given user. Rates can vary in standardways based on different factors, as discussed above.

Where price categories are concerned, AC can enable Rex to file a pricecomplaint if he thinks an answer costs too much, in other words if theanswer does not fit the conditions of a given price category.

(Note: Rex can specify a price category when he asks a question. If theanswer is missing, a supplier of the answer knows that to fit in thatcategory, the answer must carry the specified price. Rex suggests theprice of the answer then, but it is Sue who decides whether to put heranswer in that category.)

2. Price Setting Formulas

AC can include price setting formulas that take D-info for an answer andcalculate a price from that. Thus the information in the D-record for ananswer can be fed not only into the POF but also to the Price SettingFormula (PSF). Indeed, the POF can have price assumptions in it andthese can be changed by the PSF.

In the loop above, the PSF is the price setter. The loop shows howD-info can be crucial for setting prices and for estimating pay-offs,and further, how the results of setting prices can affect POE's, and howPOE's can affect the setting of prices. Pricing is a helluva feedbacksituation.

Because so many real world factors can affect price, PSF's have greatlimitations. On the other hand, because AC can accumulate a large bodyof experience with similar situations, its PSF's may potentially do agood job of setting prices, or at least a good job of advising users.

3. Suppliers Setting Prices

AC can enable Sue to set the price for an answer she supplies. Ofcourse, she can also change the price of her answer.

As mentioned, AC might have certain price categories and Sue can put heranswer in one of these. The system can also show Sue the prices thatexist for comparable answers. She can then apply her common sense.

Thus the Q-display can include a price setting option that Sue canselect to enter a price for her answer. This option can have a sub-menuso that Sue can select some other options for seeing information thatcan help her make her pricing decisions.

AC can make all D-info available to Sue so she can make a better guessas to the best price to charge. For example, AC can show the rate ofrequests received, the times the requests were made, the variety ofoffers, the average offer, the range of offers, and other price testinformation. Sue can then apply common sense.

AC can enable her to ask for help from the PSF. When she selects thisoption AC can also enable her to plug in various guesses about futuredemand for her answer and possible prices. In any case, Sue's commonsense will still not be good enough to figure out the “best” price forher answer. This problem will be solved when the Vulcan mind meld isincorporated into software, but that is another story.

In addition, as a sub-option, AC can enable Sue to have AC automaticallyset and monitor the price of her answer. In this case, she can set theinitial price and AC can take the price setting from there, using PSF'sthat attempt to maximize her income.

In addition, as a sub-option, AC can enable her to set several differentkind of alerts, alerts about the D-info concerning her answer. Like amarketing manager, she can ask AC to keep her apprised of key sales dataconcerning her answer. If we think of AC as a vast bazaar for answers,we can think of Sue as a peddler who rents a stall (a signomat). Inorder to wheel and deal properly, she obviously needs information aboutthe sales of her product and she'd like information about the sales ofthe wares of other peddlers.

She can ask to be alerted when the POE drops below a certain amount,when the actual sales and the actual sales rate hits certain values, andwhen the prices of comparable answers change by a certain amount orpercentage. If she chooses to keep abreast of comparable (alternative)answers, she may need to identify them to AC (though as we will see inBook II, AC can have means for identifying comparable answers).

She might ask to be alerted directly when a buyer makes an offer that isbelow her threshold. She may want to negotiate directly or respond witha counter offer quickly. These are just some of the key alerts possible.(We will see similar alerts in chapter 9 about the pay-off meter.)

7.3 Public and Private Domain Prices

Royalty Free Answers

AC likely will have rules for limiting the royalty income that an answercan generate. AC can keep track of the total royalty income of an answerand when the income exceeds a threshold, a cap, AC can make the answerroyalty free. Another way AC can limit royalty income is to set a timelimit during which a user can get royalties. After such a time limit, orincome cap, is exceeded, we might say that the answer passes into thepublic domain.

Once AC puts an answer in the public domain, AC might drop the price tozero or to some very small amount to compensate for overhead. Or, ACmight keep the price high in order to profit for itself. For conveniencein the discussion, we will assume that answers in the public domain arefree or near free.

Now to go into the public domain, the income cap must be reached. How isthat cap set? There are no good general rules known. The solution inpatent and copyright law is to not to set a cap but to set a time limitfor protecting income (property rights). This seems stupid in manycases. AC can give users the choice of a time limit or a cap. Thesetting of income caps is an important area where rules need to bedeveloped by experiment.

Though we cannot suggest good rules for setting income caps or timelimits, we will assume AC enables caps and time limits to be set by ACor Sue or a judge or Rex's, or some combination of these parties.

When Sue is still due royalties for an answer, we will say that theanswer is in the private domain.

“Reverting” to the Private Domain

Most answers can be changed. For example, a phone number may needcorrecting, a blueprint may need revising, a recipe for chocolate chipcookies may be improved.

As discussed in chapter 5, changing an answer requires Sue's effort andso she needs to be compensated. Thus, if an answer that is in the publicdomain is changed, it “reverts” to the private domain. This way ofstating the situation is a little misleading. When an answer is changed,the original version is still is a past answer that is in the publicdomain. It is the new version that is in the private domain. (Rex maythus choose a past answer that is in the public domain rather than acurrent answer that is in the private domain.)

Demand Information Still Registered and POE Still Calculated

If an answer is in the public domain, AC still registers demandinformation and calculates a POE. That's because the answer may bechanged and consequently revert to the private domain. Since the priceis zero in the public domain, the POF must have price assumptions as towhat the price of the changed answer will be. There can be variouschanges and various prices.

7.4 Projected Prices

Projected Price

The idea of a projected price was mentioned above. We elaborate herebecause the idea is new as a method of pricing answers in an answer base(data base).

What is a projected price? First let us say that AC can present aninitial price and a price range. The initial price is the price that Rexis obliged to pay initially to receive an answer. (If the answer is notin the system, the initial price may be what Rex commits to paying.) Theactual price is the price he winds up paying over time. The price rangeis the range of prices he might end up paying, from the initial maximumamount to some lower minimum amount that Rex may end up paying.

AC can estimate the actual price, and this estimated price is called aprojected price. For example, AC might present an offer where the pricerange of an answer is, say, between $2 and 20 cents, and the projectedprice is, say, 50 cents. How can AC have these different prices? Byrebating Rex based on the future sales of the answer.

Let's take an illustration. Let's say that a question is, What is a listof the major hologram sellers in the US.?. And let's say that Sue isthinking of compiling the list. And let's say she wants to be rathersure of being compensated for her time. She might want, say, $20. Andso, she might set the initial price for the hologram answer high,because she think that will raise the chances that she will be paid the$20. Thus the first ten Rex's might be charged $2 each. These ten Rex'scan be presented with a initial price of $2 and a projected price thatis lower.

Once Sue has gotten her $20, a share of any additional sales revenuefrom her answer can go into rebating the first ten buyers. Say thatanother 100 Rex's buy her answer. These Rex's can be charged less, say40 cents each, and the first ten Rex's can be rebated an amount. Thusthe actual price that the first ten Rex's pay is not definite, butdepends on the total sales of the answer they have bought.

Of course, many schemes are possible for rebating a buyer according tosales that occur after the buyer has bought at an initial price. Theinitial price can differ for different buyers and the rebates can differfor different buyers.

Just as the system has a formula for calculating a POE, it can have aformula for calculating a projected price. The projection depends onAC's sales projections. Thus Rex's projected rebate is just a modifiedversion of Sue's projected pay-off.

Rex's rebate may be greater even than the initial price he paid. Inother words, if the answer sells enough, Rex may get a profit frombuying the answer. The minimum price he pays may be a negative price.This idea is not as crazy as it seems. Early buyers can be looked at asinvestors. They are the “early adopters” who pay the initial higherprice, and in some sense deserve to share in the rewards of the lowerprice. They may share to the extent that they even profit. This is afundamental way of paying for innovation.

Who Makes the Projected Price Offer

AC can enable Rex to make a price offer where he offers to pay a higherinitial amount in return for a share of future royalties once a cap hasbeen reached. AC can enable him to choose from standard plans for thesharing of royalties between Rex's and a Sue. AC can also enable him tocraft his own offer using a form that AC provides. Likewise, Sue canmake a price offer where she offers to pay a share of future royaltiesin return for a given Rex or set of Rex's paying a higher initial price.She too can choose from among standard plans AC or craft her own.

Regardless of who makes the offer, Sue must agree that it applies to heranswer. In other words, a projected price is another kind of price thatcan be set. A given Rex can then agree to pay the price or not.

In order to implement a projected price, AC stores the standard orcustom plan in the credit record for Sue's answer. AC then keeps trackof the income generated by her answer, and when the income exceeds thespecified amount, AC rebates Rex's as specified by the plan.

End Note

We will not delve into this idea further here but simply emphasize thatthe principle of projected price is fundamental and can be highly usefulfor getting answers into AC.

Chapter 8 Registering People's Interest in Supplying Answers andRegistering People's Rights to Supply Answers

Let's assume that the POE for a given answer is $10,000 and is a goodguess of what users will pay in total for the answer. The answer is alarge nugget of gold then, so to speak. But is it fools gold?

That depends on how much it costs to try to find.

And it depends on the chances of finding it.

And it also depends on whether there is competition, for if anotherprospector finds the nugget first, the mining trip will be a bust.

Potential Competition and the POE

So let's say a stranger offers to pay $10,000 to the first person whomeasures the vacant space in the Empire State Building. You see theoffer and think the amount is generous. But do you do the job? Beforedoing anything, you want to know more. You ask the stranger, Who elseknows about this?

The stranger responds, A number of people.

And you ask, Well, how many of them are interested in finding theanswer?

And she responds, I don't know.

And you ask, Well, do you know if anyone is up there measuring rightnow?

And she responds, I don't know.

And you might say, Count me out.

The potential competition might naturally scare you off.

Your projected pay-off for providing something is drastically reduced bypotential competition. A potential competitor might take all yourroyalties or force you to split royalties (how royalties are divideddepends on the rules of the particular situation). Regardless of theroyalty sharing rules, you face a risk of your income being cut, and soyou must factor that risk into your estimates.

Say the royalty sharing rule is that the first supplier gets all theroyalties. Say you think the chances someone will beat you to the punchare 50%. In this case you think your POE is cut by 50% on an expectedbasis. While your POE is cut, your cost of finding an answer stays thesame, and so you may (or may not) have a negative projected profit.

Not only that, but other users in your position can feel the same wayand so no one may find an answer for fear that someone else will do itfirst. In many situations, ignorance can reasonably lead all interestedparties into believing that the projected profit is negative.

Camus Station

Let us imagine a train station, named by the way after Albert Camus, theFrench absurdist. This strange station doubles as a huge job placementcenter (it was established in an effort to reduce the Frenchunemployment rate). Hence, the central information board that announcestrain departures and arrivals also announces jobs and the amounts ofmoney they pay.

Each job requires that a person travel to another city and pick up afact and bring it back to the stationmaster, who is also the paymaster.Payment for each job is slightly more than the cost of a round tripticket to the city involved. And only one payment is made per fact. Soif two or more people go to a city and bring back a fact, they mustsplit the proceeds, and therefore lose money on the trip.

The problem is that the diabolical stationmaster has a rule that allticket purchases must be made in secret. And so no one knows until theyget on the train whether or not others will be on the same train to getthe same fact. Unhappily then, the station is full of job seekers,sitting on benches and milling around, but not traveling. They all lookat the board to see what jobs are flashed but no one buys a ticket forfear that another will have bought the same ticket. There is no exit.

Assigning Opportunities

Presuming an opportunity is spotted in the economy by one or morepeople, how is the job of exploiting the opportunity assigned? Whathappens when the task is new, and there is no boss or single customer toassign the task to a single worker or company? How is the job to beassigned when a new product or service or answer is to be provided, andno single person makes the hiring decision?

In fact we have no rational way. We trust to the “invisible hand,” butthat is meaningless in actual, specific cases. In real situations,people take a shot or don't take a shot at finding or making somethingnew, while making vague guesses about what the competition is or willbe.

And so what do we get? We get duplication of efforts throughout theeconomy. We can at least see this to some extent when we look at samejobs being done by competing parties. (Granted, duplication of effortshappens for more reasons than ignorance of the competition, but thisignorance is an important factor.)

We also get something probably far worse, that we cannot see. We getlost opportunities. Opportunities not taken because people are in Camusstation. And opportunities not taken because people are busy duplicatingefforts. That is not to say we get zero innovation, just that we have noidea how much we miss.

What then is a “rational” way to assign tasks if there is no singlecustomer or boss to decide? Well, there is none that anyone knows of.All we can do is keep some goals in mind and choose certain methods incertain situations. There are no universals.

Social Goals

In the economy of AC, in order to use people's resources best, we wouldlike to reduce the duplication of efforts. That is a vague goal and yetwe can't say much more for there is no general way to define tasks andduplication, no general way to define the effort required to dosomething.

Another goal is to get the most valuable total store of answers into AC.And yet that is equally impossible to define, for what does valuablemean.

While we cannot escape from vague goals, they can guide in developingmeasures to test assignment rules. We can sometimes see that efforts arewasted and that certain answers are more valuable than others. Hence wecan develop rules and functions that reduce the duplication of effortsand increase the store of valuable answers. And we can improve theserules and functions. This is a topic we do not delve into. Assignmentrules and functions are discussed below, but not measures to test them(see the preface of Part II).

The most important object of such rules and functions is to get answersinto AC in the first place, and that depends on the pay-off equation forpotential suppliers.

A Few Names for the Discussion

We will call a potential supplier a prospector. A user can be aprospector in any mode. In fact, all users are potential suppliers andthus prospectors.

We will also distinguish sometimes between a prospector, which any usercan be, and a live prospector, which is a user who has registeredinterest in supplying an answer. For convenience, we will sometimes calla live prospector by the name Fisher (after Mel Fisher, the treasurehunter who found the sunken Spanish galleon Attocha). We might think ofa user in request or supply mode as Rex or Sue Fisher.

We will sometimes use the term job in place of “supplying the answer.”

The Prospector's Pay-off Equation

The pay-off equation for a prospector determines whether or not ananswer will be provided. The basic equation for a single job is:(Projected reward)−(projected cost)=projected profit.

Since uncertainty about the competition can wreak havoc with theprojected reward, it can be crucial for a prospector to find out about,or nullify, the competition.

Two General Approaches

AC takes two general approaches to help a prospector evaluate the POE inlight of potential competition and to help protect the prospector'sfuture royalty income. One is to enable prospectors to communicate witheach other so they can voluntarily reduce the duplication of efforts.The other is to give prospectors property rights, exclusive rights tosupply answers. (AC also gives copyrights. These are discussed inchapter 14 on Property Rights.)

For convenience we discuss these approaches separately, thoughcommunication goes hand in hand with property rights and property rightsare a form of communication.

The various methods involved in these approaches are not idealsolutions. In fact there seems to be no ideal solution where competitionis concerned. There are reasons to keep competitors informed and reasonsnot to. There are reasons to restrict competition and reasons not to.

As usual where answers are concerned, the range of situations isextremely diverse and no general rules can be prescribed.

Prospector Menu

Information about people's interest in supplying an answer is A-statsinformation. So is information about property rights. Both kinds ofinformation, like other A-stats, are entered at the Q-display, arestored in the question record, and can be accessed from the Q-display.

Thus the Q-display can include a prospector button that can be selectedand can lead to a prospector menu of options that include the ones to bediscussed below. When a user is at a question then, he or she can selectthe prospector button to assert interest in supplying an answer and/orassert rights to supply an answer. Further, a user can see who theprospectors are for that answer and/or what kind of interest or rightseach has asserted.

8.1 Enabling Prospectors to Communicate

AC enables prospectors to communicate with other each other. Bycommunicating, they can better assign the tasks of supplying answers.They can stay out of each other's way, and they can better evaluate whena POE will turn negative due to competition.

When we say communicate with each other, we mean that they can postmessages in the Q-record for all interested users to see and that theycan also direct messages to the E-mailboxes of specific liveprospectors.

AC can enable users to post several different kinds of interestmessages. These can be standard messages that are stored in the questionrecord and displayed upon request.

AC can also compile prospector statistics based on the informationregistered from multiple live prospects.

Below we list some of the kinds of messages AC can enable users toleave.

Non-Binding Expressions of Interest

AC can enable a user to post a message expressing a non-binding interest(NBI) in supplying an answer. By “non-binding” we mean that the userstates that he is interested in supplying an answer, but that thestatement carries no commitment and no penalty for non-performance.

As one of the options in the prospector menu then, AC can include abutton the user selects to enter NBI information. When a user selectsthis button, AC registers that he is interested in the answer, and ACcan present him with a form that asks for more information such as:

-   -   When do you think you will enter the answer by?    -   What is the probability you will enter it?    -   How much labor do you expect it will require to find, and what        kind of labor?    -   What are you planning on charging?        This information is registered in the Q-record and can be        displayed upon request. AC can combine the information        registered from different prospectors into collective        statistics, such as the number of NBI messages registered.

Another NBI message that AC can enable users to enter is one thatexpresses interest contingent upon the POE rising to a certain level.Thus Fisher can leave a message saying he is interested in supplying theanswer once the POE rises above a certain threshold. Of course, in thiscase AC also registers the threshold that Fisher enters and sends him analert message if the POE rises above the threshold.

While an NBI message carries no commitment, AC can keep track ofFisher's record of following through over a series of answers, i.e. doeshe enter the answer, does he enter it by the time he says he will, andare his probability estimates fairly accurate?. That way people canevaluate whether a prospector is much of threat to supply an answer. ACmay keep such individual prospector stats in a user's record and mayattach them to an NBI message. For example, if Fisher posts an NBImessage, AC can add a statistic telling the percentage of times he hassupplied an answer when he has posted an NBI message.

Binding Expressions of Interest

AC can also enable a user to post a message expressing a bindinginterest (BI) in supplying an answer. By “binding” we mean that Fishercommits to supply an answer by a certain time. AC registers the time andchecks to see if Fisher has fulfilled his commitment. AC can assesspenalties if Fisher fails to fulfill the commitment. We call this typeof commitment a BI message. As with an NBI message, AC can ask Fisher toenter further information, such as information about charges and laborrequirements. As with an NBI message, AC can keep track of Fisher'srecord of following through over a series of answers.

Prospector Alerts

When Fisher is at a question, he can check the current prospectorinformation that has been registered. Let us say that after seeing thecurrently registered competition, Fisher decides to enter an expressionof interest. While he sees the currently registered competition, hemight like to know about other people who express interest after hedoes. And so AC can enable him to ask that an alert message be sent tohim each time AC registers interest by someone else. The alert caninclude some or all of the interest information registered.

Collaboration Offer

AC can enable Fisher to post a message asking others to collaborate infinding an answer. The message can be in a standard form, or it can belengthy, spelling out Fisher's proposal.

The terms of the collaboration may be worked out by directcommunication.

(We will not discuss collaboration much further though it is a veryimportant area. We assume AC has rules for enabling cooperation and forthe splitting of royalties. These rules and attendant functions can, ofcourse, vary widely.)

Elaboration Requests, Elaboration Messages, and Elaboration Questions

Thus far we have skirted a big issue. When a user declares an interestin supplying an answer, what is the answer? This is the multiple answerproblem, which we discussed in chapter 4. We will revisit it onlybriefly here.

Since there can be multiple answers to a question, declaring interestingin an answer may tell little about one's intentions. Other prospectorscan remain quite uncertain. And so, AC can enable users to send amessage to a Fisher asking for clarification about what answer heintends to supply. We call this an elaboration request. Because of themultiple answer reality, this option can be critical.

The elaboration request can be standard, such as: Please elaborate, orit can be lengthy, asking for various details.

Fisher can respond with an elaboration message. This can be a discussionof what he plans to do. This is an A-stats, like the other prospectorinformation, and can be accessed through the relevant Q-record. We pointthis out because it is in contrast to a second method of implementing anelaboration message.

The alternative way for Fisher to elaborate is by entering a newquestion, the question he intends to answer. We call such a question aMore Specific Question. It is discussed at length in Book II.

For example, say Fisher expresses an interest in supplying the answerto,

-   What is IBM's phone number?.    Well, which number at IBM? Clearly, clarification may be very    useful.-   Say the question is, What is the text of Hamlet's soliloquy?.    Well, which soliloquy?    And in what language?    Again, Fisher can say more specifically what he intends to supply.-   Say the question is, How do you get rid of crabgrass?    Again, Fisher can get more specific. He may enter a new question    such as:-   How do you get rid of crabgrass by obliterating all your grass?-   How do you get rid of crabgrass by chemical means?-   How do you get rid of crabgrass by the introduction of a different    kind of grass?.

Since the elaboration message is actually a new question, the originalquestion is linked to the new question. (We save the mechanics of morespecific questions for Book II.)

The process of clarification can go back and forth with Fisherresponding and prospectors asking for more elaboration. How muchelaboration Fisher needs to give, and how quickly depends on thesituation and the rules in that situation.

Direct Communication

AC can enable Fishers to contact each other directly. That way they canmore forcefully warn each other off. They can ask each other tocollaborate. And, they can ask each other to elaborate on what they areplanning and doing.

Disclosure Document Option

AC can include a disclosure document option. By this we mean that Fishercan enter information that shows the progress he has made in finding ananswer. AC does not store this information as the answer but does storeit in the Q-record. More than one Fisher may submit a disclosuredocument.

Of course, the information can be kept secret and can be divulged uponthe permission of Fisher.

Disclosure document information can be essential where it is importantto demonstrate what progress has been made, and to demonstrate priority.

8.2 Reservation Rights

Often communication is not enough to reduce duplication of efforts andinsure that a prospector's POE is positive. Some prospectors who intendto supply an answer may not communicate their intentions. And even whenthey do, it is uncertain whether they will supply an answer and when.For any prospector then, despite communication channels, greatuncertainty can remain about potential competitors.

Therefore, in order to protect a person's investment in finding ananswer, what are often needed are property rights, exclusive rights tosupply an answer. We will call such rights reservation rights orreservations for short. A person who gets a reservation will be called areserver.

The general idea is that when a user is at a question, AC can enable theuser to enter a Reserve command after which AC stores the user's ID datain the Q-record to denote that the user is the reserver of thecorresponding answer. Then, for a period of time, AC allows only thatuser to enter the answer. AC also shows other users that the answer isreserved for that period.

Reservation rights can vary widely. They need not be long-term,exclusive monopolies. They can cap the amount a supplier will make andthey can be semi-exclusive. Parties may collaborate under the protectionof such rights. A possibility is to allow part of the royalty incomefrom an answer to be protected while the rest is left open tounrestricted competition.

One variation is to allow another user besides the reserver to supply ananswer, but to keep this second answer undisclosed until the reservationperiod runs out. The reserver still gets royalties for his answerprovided he supplies one. The reason to allow another person to enter ananswer is that the reserver may decide he cannot fulfill his commitment,or may just fail to fulfill it. In either case, the second supplier'sanswer can then be used.

Disputes, Judges, and Elaboration Rights

Where there are property rights there will be disputes. As disputes areinevitable, AC must have judges to assign credit.

The main problem, which is discussed above, is determining what answer aperson has an exclusive right to supply. What answer is Fisher claiming?It is tempting to think of reservation rights in terms of land, where aprospector stakes a claim to a piece of ground, yet the analogy isdeceptive. Answer are usually unlike land.

One solution, as discussed above, is an elaboration request and anelaboration message. Where reservation rights are concerned, the requestcan be an elaboration right in itself, the right to demand that areserver elaborate on the answer she intends to supply. This option isusually vital to make reservation rights work. It too involves a timelimit, in this case a time limit to respond. Thus AC can keep track ofthe time and can penalize a reserver if she does not respond in time.

The Best Laid Plans

Reservation rights are different than copyrights and patents, yet theyshare some similarities, for all protect the income a person gets froman answer. All protect against uncompensated copying in essence. The bigdifference is that reservations concern answers that are planned,answers that have not yet been supplied. So disputes can arise overcopying what is not yet even found.

Prospectors who would like to supply an answer naturally may be afraidof interfering with an existing reservation. Moreover, two reservationsmight interfere as well. For example, say that a question is, What'scausing this traffic jam?. Now a user reserves the answer to thisquestion and goes off to find the answer. Let's say that a second userwants to answer the question as well. This second user is an eyewitnessto the accident that has caused the jam. She might think it pointless toenter the answer though because someone else has reserved it. Yet theoriginal reserver might not be able to find out the answer for a periodof time. Further, he might come up with some other answer. And so wehave a problem.

One solution is to have the second prospector enter a more specificquestion such as,

-   What's causing this traffic jam, according to an eyewitness?    and then enter her answer to this question. A dispute may arise    later or it might not, depending on what answer the original    reserver planned to enter and where he planed to get his answer    from.

Given these problems, AC can enable users to consult a judge who cangive an opinion about a potential interference.

Of course there is no perfect solution to the problem. The issue issimilar to, and in some cases equivalent to, resolving patent disputes.These are hard enough, but with reservations we are referring tosomething even more indefinite, answers that are planned but that do notyet exist. And further difficulties are presented because the methods ofgetting an answer and the sources of an answer can matter, as can a hostof factors, such as timeliness. For example, with the answer above, theoriginal reserver might enter the same answer as the eyewitness, thatthe jam was caused by, say, a jackknifed tractor trailer. But thereserver may have gotten his account third-hand and so it may be lessreliable that the eyewitness's. It is the same answer and yet it is not.Should the two answers interfere? And what if the original reserver didnot know where he would get his answer from?

To repeat, we will not give great solutions to these problems, thoughsuch things as elaboration requests and messages can help a great deal.

Despite the inevitable difficulties, it is useful for AC to includereservation rights.

Completion Clock

A reservation only lasts for a certain period of time. (Time limits can,of course, vary widely.) And so AC can have a completion clock that,like a 24 second clock in basketball, keeps track of the time limit oncea reservation is granted and shows how much time is left until thereservation runs out.

AC can maintain a waiting list of people interested in getting areservation. People on the waiting list can be granted the reservationshould the reserver fail to do so within the time limit.

Fees and Penalties

In order to provide a greater incentive to reservers to fulfill theirobligations, AC can assess fees for reservations. Likewise, AC canassess penalties should a reserver fail to fulfill his commitment.

8.3 Rules for Assigning Reservations

Presuming a reservation can be granted for an answer, how is the rightto be assigned? There are several basic selection methods which wedescribe below. The simplest is a first come first serve rule, where thefirst prospector to sign up for the reservation gets it.

Reservation Clock

If a first come first serve rule is not in effect, AC needs areservation clock. This clock sets a period of time during whichprospectors are eligible to sign up for the chance to get a reservation.AC displays the clock. The clock may be started when the firstprospector signs up for a reservation to a given answer.

Alerts to Interest Parties

Once a prospector asks for a reservation, AC can send an alert to allthe live prospectors for that answer. The alert shows the time on thereservation clock. Live prospectors can then respond as to whether ornot they want to be part of a selection process for the reservation.

Assignment By Lot

One basic selection process is random selection. Thus AC can randomlychoose a Fisher to get the reservation.

Assignment by Auction

Another basic selection process is an auction. There are different kindsof auctions that AC can hold. The auctions may be silent or open.

One kind of auction is a highest bid auction, where Fishers bid on howmuch they will pay for the reservation. The highest bidder wins, and ACcharges him accordingly.

A different kind of auction is a lowest price bid auction, where theFisher who promises to charge the least for the answer wins. In thiscase, AC sets the price of the answer once it is supplied according towhat the winning Fisher has pledged.

A variation is a lowest cap bid auction where Fishers agree to cap thetotal royalty income for an answer. The Fisher that bids the lowest capwins. In this case, should the answer be supplied, AC stops royaltypayments once the cap has been reached.

Another kind of auction is fastest completion bid auction, one where theFisher who bids to do the job fastest wins. In this case, AC can keeptrack of whether the winning Fisher has supplied the answer within thetime pledged, and can assess penalties if not.

The big problem of course with all such auctions is that winning isbased on one parameter, such as price. An auction where more than oneparameter is involved is hard to do and requires more complicatedscoring methods.

Letting Buyers Assign Rights

Typically in the economy a single buyer decides who does a job. Thereare various ways for a buyer to do this. But what happens when there aremultiple, unrelated potential buyers? How can they collectively selectwho gets to do a job?

Well, we have an economy where people “vote with their wallets.”Collections of customers decide which company has the better product andtherefore ultimately who gets to do a job in many cases. While that maybe okay for products that already exist, how can unrelated potentialcustomers collectively select who gets to produce a product that is yetunmade? How can they decide who gets a reservation right, who gets to doa new job? As yet, there is no good way in the general economy.

In AC it can be arranged so that sometimes it is practical for them tosee the credentials of the various candidate prospectors and vote on whoshould get the right. Hence AC can include procedures for enablingrequesters to vote to pick which live prospector gets the reservation.The quality records of prospectors can be displayed (see chapter 13 onQuality Control).

Another method is for requesters to grant reservations individually. Bythis we mean that a requester can specify along with a request that heis giving a reservation right to a supplier. A requester can name asupplier or let anyone be eligible for the reservation. He can furtherspecify various details about the right, including whether the right isassigned on a first come first serve basis or whether it is by someother method. If by some other method, he can also specify the time onthe reservation clock.

AC can also enable a Fisher to poll prospects and ask them for exclusiverights.

In cases where requesters grant reservation rights the problem is thatdifferent requestors can grant different rights and to differentFishers. There is no general solution to this problem. AC can includevarious rules for standardizing rights. Further, AC can enable a Fisherto see what kind of rights he will get given all the various ones thathave been offered. There are various ways to “total up rights.”

Another problem arises which is that there is no way to poll futurerequesters and thus determine whether a Fisher will get royalties fromsales to those requesters. If some requestors give reservations andothers do not, who is to claim the royalties from future sales?

We might assume that a reservation right includes the right to share insome or all of the future sales of an answer. But if the reservation isonly conferred by certain requestors, how do we determine what share areserver gets, especially if he is not the first the supply an answer?As with all rules about reservations, there are no universals. AC mustsimply include certain rules to determine the splits.

Selling Reservation Rights

A reserver can sell his reservation to another Fisher. This option canbe important because it is a solution to the problem of what to do abouta Fisher who is in a better position than the reserver to supply ananswer. Thus AC can allow users to post messages for offering to buy andsell reservations, and can enable users to execute the transactions.These messages can be stored, as with other A-stats, in the Q-record,and can be accessed through the prospector menu.

First-to-File or First-to-Find, the Problem of Tipping One's Hand

A Fisher might not want to seek a reservation because he might not wantto tip his hand about the direction of his research, about what he hasfound so far, about what he plans to supply. This is the problem ofgiving protection on a first-to-file basis or a first-to-find basis (inpatent law the issue is first-to-file versus first-to-invent).

Both approaches have merit. Therefore, AC might allow Fisher to takeeither route, giving rights to both first to file users and first toinvent users. In other words, a reserver who chooses first to file wouldshare royalties with a reserver who chooses first to invent. The key tosplitting royalties is a disclosure document discussed above. If Fisherwants “first-to-find” rights, he needs to supply evidence of priority ina disclosure document.

Problems With Allowing Reservations

A better answer may emerge because of competition, but no answer mayemerge because of competition. This is the dilemma. Reservation rightsrestrict competition and are one approach that can help to insure thatan answer is provided at all. But there are many open puzzles that comewith reservations (and copyrights), and they cannot be solved byuniversal rules. Some of the puzzles are:

-   What is a copy of an answer?-   What is an improvement of an answer?-   What is a copy of a potential answer?-   What is an improvement of a potential answer?-   What credit should be given to improvements of answers?-   What amount of time should be put on the completion clock?-   What amount of time should be put on the reservation clock?-   What happens to a reservation if someone can supply a better answer    or an equivalent answer but faster and cheaper?-   In general, how do we give reservation rights without sacrificing    the getting of better, faster, cheaper answers?

8.4 Using Prospector Information in the POF

Because potential competition can be a very big factor in the POE, ACcan include variables for prospector information in the POF, and canfeed prospector information into the POF.

AC can show two POE's, one that factors in prospector information andone that does not (as will be seen in chapter 9, AC can show variousPOE's).

AC can use historical prospector information as well. Just as AC cancollect information on buying situations, AC can collect information onpotential supplier situations. We might call these prospector situationstats, which are distinguished from individual prospector stats thatconcern a single individual's record. For example, AC can compilestatistics on the likelihood that an answer will be entered, and thelikelihood of when, given various prospector situation facts, such asthe number of NBI and BI messages that have been registered.

As with buying situations, prospector situations can be characterized ina variety of ways. Here we have not made an attempt to list the basicsituations. We have given some key pieces of prospector information thatcan be registered that can be used in characterizations. Otherinformation that can be used was discussed in the chapter 6 onregistering demand information.

Chapter 9 The Pay-off Meter

The Pay-off Meter (POM) is the name we have given to the process bywhich AC records demand information about an answer, converts thatinformation by a pay-off formula (POF) into a sales and a royaltyestimate for that answer, and shows the resulting pay-off estimate (POE)to users.

In this chapter, we describe some features that the POM can include, andthat AC can include regarding the POM.

POE Alerts

The POM can include POE alerts. A POE alert means that AC alerts a userabout a change in the POE for an answer. The answer may be missing oractual.

As examples, AC can enable users to ask to be told when the POE for amissing answer rises above (or drops below) a threshold. A potentialsupplier of an answer might want to know when the POE rises above someamount because then it might be worthwhile to supply the answer.

AC can enable a user to be alerted as to when the POE for an actualanswer drops below (or rises above) a threshold. The supplier of ananswer might want to know when the POE drops below some thresholdbecause she might then want to take some action, such as, lowering herprice, improving her answer, or challenging an illegal copycat.

In AC, answers are products. Obviously then, the supplier of a productmight want to be kept informed of the sales projections for her product,if that product makes a significant amount of money (royalties). And shemight want to keep informed of the sales projections of competingproducts. Thus, like a system that keeps track of the price of selectedstocks, AC can enable Sue to keep track of the POE's of all of heranswers, and of the competing answers she is concerned about.

Check Mode

A different kind of mode from supply mode or request mode is check mode.In check mode a user is simply looking at answers, both actual andmissing, to see whether a new answer is worth supplying.

As has been pointed out before, the POE is a key search stat, and so ACcan enable users to search for answers according to POE. The importantthing to note here is that AC can enable a user to explicitly state thathe is in check mode, that he is not looking to buy an answer, but onlylooking for good jobs to do (or checking POE's for some other reason).Thus, a user's activity in check mode would not normally be registeredby AC as D-info.

Multiple Types of POE

The POE depends on what a supplier intends on entering. For example, thesupplier of an answer that is only a small improvement over an existinganswer might only merit credit for a small percentage of the royaltiesthat the new, improved answer generates. We might say that multiplekinds of POE's are possible for different kinds of improvements that aremade in an answer. AC can include certain classifications of changes,with corresponding kinds of credit due to those changes.

However, there are no general ways of classifying the changes to ananswer and relating those changes to percentages of credit.

So, the simplest way to look at the situation is to say that AC assumesSue will get all the royalty credit for an answer she enters, unless shetells AC differently. It is up to Sue to figure out what percentage ofthe credit she will get according to the property rights (thecopy/credit rules) of AC. These meta rules are crucial to any POE, butit is not AC's job, in general, to determine what share of the creditSue should get. She must honestly assign credit realizing that otherswill be watching her, and challenging her if they think she has hoggedtoo much of the credit.

Multiple POF's

AC will not necessarily show only one POE for a given answer. The POE isthe result of a POF that analyzes D-info. Innumerable POF's arepossible, and AC can let a user to choose from a variety of POF's.Further, AC can show a user which POF's have been accurate in projectingincome when applied to D-info situations that are similar to the onethat the user faces.

Having Users Adjust the POF and the POE

The POE is the result of the POF taking D-info from a Q-record (orQ-records) and converting it into a sales and royalty projection.Innumerable factors (variables) can go into a POF. AC can enable a user,say Sue, to see what values it plugs into those variables and can allowSue to help it adjust key values to arrive at a better POE. Users can do“what-if” scenarios, based on altering the values for different factors.

(Note: A user adjusting a POF can be in any mode. For convenience wewill call the user Sue, even though Rex, or prospector would do just aswell. When we use Sue we do not mean that the user will necessarilysupply an answer. We mean someone who has an actual answer in mind whenshe is adjusting the POF.)

For many factors, human brains and human knowledge of the situationsurrounding a particular answer will be better than AC's assumptions,which are based on averages from large statistical samples.

AC can show Sue a form that lists key variables in a POF and can ask herto enter what she thinks are reasonable values. AC can also enable herto examine the values that AC proposes, and can enable her to ask AC howit arrived at those values—in other words, she can ask to see the D-infothat AC has based its assumptions on. Below are just a five values(factors) of a POF that Sue can adjust.

Price. Sue can enter the sales price of an answer.

Time Valid. Sue can enter when an answer will no longer be wanted, orwhen the demand for an answer will tail off.

Royalty Rate. Sue can enter the royalty rate(s) for her answer.

Credit. Sue can enter how much of the royalty credit she is due for heranswer.

Buyer Commitments. Sue can contact Rex's directly to see how solid theirbuying commitments are, and can enter new assumptions about thosecommitments.

(In Chapter 25 of Book II, we discuss some more values that Sue canadjust in order to arrive at a better POE.)

Chapter 10 Royalty Rules

Royalty rules are, of course, a crucial ingredient in the POF and POE.AC can allow suppliers to pick standard royalty plans or AC's meta rulescan determine the plans.

Royalty rules can be highly variable, just as pricing plans can behighly variable. We cannot give any prescriptions about what share of ananswer's sales Sue should get in general, or what share AC should get,or when an answer should go into the public domain.

Especially problematic are rules for determining how royalties are to besplit between Sue's when one Sue uses anothers answer within her answer.We cannot give any general rules for the splitting of royalties betweenSue's. We can only say that AC can enable users to split royaltiesautomatically through royalty rules. It is up to the users, and perhapsthe managers of AC, to determine those rules.

One important twist that should be mentioned is that AC can include aroyalty plan in certain cases where, based on insurance principles, aPOE is not an estimate but is a guaranteed offer. For example, if tenpeople commit to paying $1 for an answer, AC may make a Sue a guaranteedoffer of $5. In certain cases then, AC can enable Sue to chooseguaranteed royalties.

Brief Note on the Importance of the Flexibility of the Royalty Rules

One of the advantages of AC is that the royalty rules and the POF areinfinitely variable. Thus, the system Manager can adjust the rules toreward certain actions such as the correcting of answers. Here we willnote one of the most important consequences, starting up the system andattaining critical mass for certain answers.

For many types of fee based data-base systems, the problem is startingup and gathering enough initial data and enough initial customers. Thisproblem is often referred to as the critical mass problem. The idea isthat a critical mass of customers is needed for the system to beself-perpetuating. But it is a chicken and egg problem, for often nousers can be gotten until the data is in the system.

The beauty of the AC is that it enables the System Manager to provideincentives that can jump start the system. For example, if your plan isto start a lowest price locating system, a huge obstacle is how toconvince thousands of sellers nationwide to feed in their prices so thatthe prices can be sorted. We met a similar problem in the very beginningwhen we discussed the problem of even keeping a data-base of telephonenumbers up to date. The problems with a lowest price locator are worse.

If we agree though that people would be interested in lowest prices wecan see that if the system got started it might be self-perpetuating,for buyers would want to check lowest prices and the low price sellerswould, out of self interest, want to display prices. So let us assumethat once the system got going it would have value for users and wouldbe self-perpetuating.

In order to jump start the system the System Manager can adjust theroyalty rules so that the people who are the first to enter the lowestprice of a given item get a share of future income from all the lowestprices that are entered, for that item for a period of time. Forexample, say that the item is a Sony Walkman (we'll pretend there isjust one model in the world). Then the royalty rules can be set suchthat the person who enters the lowest price will get a share of theroyalties of all subsequent lowest prices, for a period of, say, 5years. Now, if there is no price in AC then the first person to enterthe price is the lowest. That is not a reasonable way to get the systemgoing. Therefore, the System Manager can set a rule such that the“first” lowest price Supplier is considered to be the person who hasentered the lowest price that is valid at a given date and time.

The System Manager can set the royalty rules such that, for instance,the supplier of the lowest price for a Walkman on December 24th, atnoon, gets a small share of the royalties for all lowest prices enteredfor the next 5 years on a Walkman. The reward might be, say, $200. Thusthe System Manager sets up a competition to be the lowest price supplieron a given date and time. The competition might last, say a couple ofmonths. At the end of this competition, a truly low price might beentered and the system may be off an running for prices on that item.

We use this illustration as a representative example of the advantagesof being able to adjust the POF (the royalty rules really). There aremany other advantages of being able to adjust the royalty rate and thusthe resulting POE's, but this use above is the inventor's favorite.

Chapter 12 Direct Mail

(Note: A longer chapter was planned here initially. However, planschanged and we only have a few remarks to make about “direct mail” inAC. Rather than eliminate this chapter and then have to change all thelater chapter headings, we leave the chapter here.)

The basic idea of direct mail in AC is that a prospective Sue can sendE-mail messages to prospective buyers asking them if they want to buy ananswer. For example, Sue can ask Rex, do you want an answer to thequestion, What's the newest and best treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?

(This point was already made in Chapter 6 on the registering of D-info.)

Of course, suppliers of actual answers, not just potential answers, canalso send “direct mail” solicitations to buyers.

Using AC's user record information, Sue's can find out what Rex's wantby the questions they have been at and by the offers they have made atthose questions.

Chapter 13 Quality Control of Answers Through Labeling

For a practical AC, it is crucial that buyers be able to judge thequality of answers. The idea quality covers a lot of aspects of ananswer, some describable and some not. In this chapter, we will beconcerned with some of the things that users can say about answers thatcan help other users evaluate the answers.

Now, when we say “quality control of answers through labeling” we meanthat an answer can be labeled in various ways. We might think of ananswer as breakfast cereal in a cereal box. We can think of thecorresponding question as the primary label, the name on the box. And wecan think of A-A-stats concerning quality as the nutrition informationon the side of the box.

(It is important to note that much of the quality information that canbe included as A-A-stats information can be included in an answer aswell. This point will be clearer in a bit when we look at informationthat can describe the quality of an answer.)

A different kind of quality control occurs when a user improves on orreplaces an answer—e.g., when someone updates a price. This kind ofquality control is closely related to quality control through labelingbecause, in order for someone to know that something in an answer needsto be changed, someone else often has to first say what needs changing.A user may also explicitly request an improvement. Such a request is akind of description itself. And so, the process of improving an answeris not entirely separate from the labeling of an answer.

This chapter will stick to the subject of describing the quality of ananswer rather than the subject of changing the content of the answer. Ofcourse, when one describes the quality, one usually changes theperception of an answer. So, it is hard to say what it means to changean answer. Here we usually mean the difference between an answer and itsA-A-stats—we usually have in mind the adding and changing of A-A-statsthat describe the quality of an answer.

Who Describes the Quality of an Answer

The quality of an answer can be described by Sue, who puts the answerin, by any Rex who sees the answer, and even by AC in certain ways. Sue,Rex and AC can enter some of the same kinds of descriptions. Mainly, Rexand Sue can enter the same kinds of comments, while AC compiles andshows statistics about an answer and about the people who are commentingon the answer. First, let us take what Sue can enter.

Some of the Things Sue Can Say About the Quality of Her Answer

As discussed, most of the things that Sue can say about her answer, shecan include in her answer instead.

1. Timeliness of Her Answer

For example, if she answers, Who charges less, Sprint or ATT? she wouldsay when the answer was found, and possibly when it was last checked.

2. Source(s) of Her Answer

For example, if she answers, What is the best treatment for lupus?, thenshe would give sources.

3. Witnesses

For example, if she answers, How many people were at the Yankees gamelast night?, she can name other people who corroborate her figure.Sometimes a witness is the same as a source and sometimes not. We willdiscuss witnessing a bit later, but the point is that Sue tells aboutpeople who verify her answer.

4. Methods

She can give an explanation of how her answer was found.

5. Complete or Incomplete

She can say whether her answer is partial or complete (she can tell thisfact with semantically linked questions as well). For example, if sheanswers, What is the best sunscreen lotion?, she may give an answer, butexplain that it is incomplete in the sense that she has only tested acertain number of lotions. Or, if she answers the question, What are theten largest steel producers in the US?, and she only gives a few names,she might say that her answer is incomplete. Normally, in suchsituations, she would also store her answer under another, moreappropriate question. The point is simply that a basic quality commentis to say whether an answer is “complete” or “incomplete”. (Naturally,these terms are subjective since there is no general definition of a“complete” answer.)

6. True or Not

Most answers that people give cannot be called true or false becausethey are not posed precisely enough—e.g., a movie review cannot becalled true or false. Still, some percentage of answers are posed wellenough—e.g., the reported price of the movie can be called true orfalse. Thus, where applicable, Sue can claim that her answer is true, orthat certain assertions within her answer are true.

7. Guarantee

She can put up money to guarantee that certain statements are true.

8. Probability Estimate

She can explain that statements are guesses and can assign probabilityestimates that they are true.

9. Bets

She can make bets about statements in her answers.

10. Challenges

She can issue a challenge that her answer is better than another. Thisgimmick can be an important, particularly if she puts money behind it.There are many ways to pose a challenge, of course.

11. Paid Review

She can pay to have a neutral party evaluate and report on her answer.

12. Linking Answers to Supporting Answers

She can link her answer to others that support it. She can also citesuch answers.

13. Abstract

She can summarize, or provide a sample of, her answer.

Some of the Things Rex Can Say About the Quality of an Answer

We should note that when Rex is making quality comments about an answer,AC does not necessarily register this activity as D-info. We might saythat Rex is in Review Mode. Certain kinds of quality information can beused as D-info—for example, complaints can be correlated with the salesof an answer—but the point is that Rex is not requesting an answer.Thus, we should just say that AC may or may not use given qualityinformation that Rex enters as D-info.

Rex's review information can be abbreviated as, for example, if he givesfour stars to a movie. Of course, as with a movie review, Rex's reviewinformation can be elaborated on. Below we will discuss mainlyabbreviations. In all the cases, AC can enable Rex to elaborate. Theidea is just to give categories of quality information.

1. Timeliness

Rex can point out whether an answer is out of date or not. For example,if he sees a price, he can report that it is out of date.

2. Fit or Clash

Rex can say that an answer does not fit a question. For example, if thequestion is, How far is it to Chicago from Washington D.C.?, and theanswer is, Jello, then the answer does not fit the question. Even whenthe answer is technically true, it may not fit the question. Forexample, the answer, Less than 1,000,000 miles, may be true, but it doesnot seem to be what is sought in the question above. Actually, we haveno definition of what it means for an answer to fit a question, to matcha question, to be appropriate to a question, and therefore all we cansay is that AC can enable any Rex to state whether an answer does ordoes not fit a question.

3. True or False

Rex can say that an answer is true or false, or that certain statementsin an answer are true or false.

4. Misleading

Rex can say that an answer is misleading.

5. Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory

Rex and say whether an answer is satisfactory or not.

6. Numerical Scoring

Rex can rate an answer on a numerical scale (and AC can compile thescores given by different Rex's).

7. Guarantee

Rex can accept a guarantee about an answer.

8. Bets

Rex can accept a bet about an answer, or can place a bet about ananswer.

9. Refund Request

Rex can ask for refund. (AC would keep statistics on the rate of refundrequests for an answer.)

Some Things AC Can Say About the Quality of an Answer

1. Basic Facts About an Answer

AC can tell how long an answer is, when it was entered, and by whom.

2. Scoring Methods

If people are able to score an answer, AC can compile and display thescores given by different people.

3. Compiling Complaint and Satisfaction Statistics

AC can compile statistics on how many people have complained about, orhave complimented, an answer. For example if 1,000 people have bought ananswer and only 3 have asked for refunds then that is a indication thatthe answer is good.

4 CSUB

AC can include a Communications System Using Bets.

5. Credibility Statistics

AC can compile statistics about the credibility of users.

a) Sue's Credibility Record

AC can compile statistics about how many complaints have been registeredabout all of Sue's answers. Sue's “record of reliability” (a poorphrase) can be kept track of in various ways. While no perfect recordcan be made, certain statistics can differentiate between thereliability of different people.

b) Reviewer's Credibility Record

The same principle applies to reviewers of Sue's answer.

6. Alerts

When a user has entered a review of Sue's answer, AC can alert herbecause she may want to acknowledge the review or contest it in someway.

The Importance of Verifiable Statements

In any system for distributing answers, the credibility of those answersis paramount. A fundamental way to gain credibility is through the useof verifiable statements, statements that can be found true or false.

By verifiable statement we do not mean a statement that is verifiable bysome elaborate procedure. We have in mind statements that people agreecan be found true or false without much trouble defining what true andfalse are in the situation that the verifiable statement describes. Forexample when we say that William Powell and Myrna Loy starred in TheThin Man, we do not explain how we would verify that, still we realizethat most people know that the statement can be decided to be true orfalse.

(Another degree of verifiable statement is what can be called a betstatement. A bet statement not only can be found true or false but alsocontains directions telling how to find it true or false, unless theprocedure is obvious.)

Verifiable statements are the touchstones for determining a person'scredibility and the credibility of an answer. Why? Because they can becontested, can be called true or false. Thus if an answer has numerousverifiable statements none of which have been contested then we canoften say that the answer is credible (presuming the verifiablestatements are significant). But, when there are no significantverifiable statements, we can't judge well whether an answer iscredible.

So, AC can enable people to highlight (identify) their verifiablestatements and can enable other users to register their assents orobjections to the highlighted statements—confirmations and refutations.

Judges will be required to settle disputes in many cases.

AC can compile statistics about how many times a person's verifiablestatements have been successfully contested (AC will have some kind ofmeta rules about what it means to successfully contest a verifiablestatement). Further, for a given answer, AC can keep track of how manypeople object, and do not object, to verifiable statements within theanswer.

Verifiable statements can also have money put behind them, in which casewe are dealing with bet statements and bets.

Registering Demand for Verification (Witness Costs)

A hidden cost of knowledge, of answers that is, is the cost of witnessesand witnessing. In order to use an answer, we'd like to know that it isreliable. We'd like to trust the source where it came from.

Every answer has to come from someone who saw or heard or felt or tastedor smelt something. So, naturally, we have to trust people.

Often the ultimate source of an answer is a single person, or a singleteam of people that we can think of as a single person. In other words,the ultimate source of an answer is often a single witness.

And yet, in many cases, we are not satisfied with that. We want morewitnesses-we want verification. But verification costs time and money.In fact, the prohibitive costs of paying for extra, neutral witnessingis one of the main reasons we can't trust so many statements.

Consider the example of a medical study that says that taking an aspirina day lowers the chance of heart attack. We want a witness to back upthe claim. In this case, witnessing means repeating the experiment.Obviously, it costs a lot to do repeat studies needed to verify theresults. Or, take the example of an assertion by a sunscreen maker thatits product blocks UV rays at “15 times” a person's normal protection.Well, a customer may be skeptical, but who is to fund the cost ofverifying the statement?

Verification Questions

Of course, AC registers demand for the verification of an answerwhenever someone enters a question asking for verification. (A requestfor the verification of an answer is usually any question of the form:Who else says the same thing and how do they know?) For convenience, ACcan also include a special, named question that we will call averification question (ver question).

For example, say a question is, When is the best time of the month tohave intercourse if you want to get pregnant?. And say the answer is,The week before ovulation according to NIH. A ver-Q may then be, Whosays so at NIH?. Another ver-Q may be, What is the best time of themonth to get pregnant according to some respected institution other thanNIH, and according to some study other than the one NIH relies upon?

A ver-Q can be linked to a question and/or answer. Note: We discusslinked questions in Book II, so we are jumping ahead a little.

A ver-Q is like any other question, it simply has a semanticrelationship relative to an answer, and to another question. AC canenable a user to enter a ver-Q and link it to a Q-A location of ananswer. A user seeing the answer can then also see, and go to, ver-Q's.And the user can also find verifying answers corresponding to thever-Q's, if those answers exist.

Ver-Q's do not need to be specially named or linked to answers. That issimply a convenience. The key point, which perhaps does not need to bemade, is that questions in AC can reveal the costs of, and the need for,witnessing.

Digression on Paying for Guesses

An interesting philosophical and practical question is: How much is aguess worth?

This question is not just philosophical because in conversation mostanswers that people give are guesses, and any answer to a certain extentis a guess. We cannot say what a guess is worth in general.

A person who supplies a guess can sell the guess like any other answer.Of course, it helps if she attaches a probability estimate to the guess,telling what the chances are that the guess is true, in her opinion.

Deciding how much to charge for a guess if one is the seller, and howmuch to pay if one is the buyer, depends on many factors.

A critical issue is the value of having a 100% certain answer. Then thekey issue is the supplier's record in making guesses. How good were herprobability estimates in the past? Her past record will often determinethe value of her guess.

(AC can keep track of a person's record of past guesses, comparing thedistribution of results to the probability estimates made before theresults were known.)

Chapter 14 Property Rights

Since AC collects answers by paying people royalties on the sales ofthose answers, AC needs to give suppliers property rights, such ascopyright protection. Uncompensated copying has a huge cost, for itprevents people from finding new answers. This principle is well known,but for the sake of concreteness let's take three example questions, ifonly to keep in mind that there can be drastic differences in the effortit takes to find different answers, and that different kinds ofprotection may be necessary depending on the effort involved.

-   1. What's the formula for a lotion that will eliminate hair for at    least 6 months and will not damage the skin?-   2. Who do 2000 randomly selected Americans think will win the next    Presidential election ?-   3. What's a short definition of the term “tonic chord”?

It is recognized that some answers, like the answer to the firstquestion above, require some kind of protection, which we call patentprotection. Other answers, like the answers to the second and thirdquestion, also require protection, though current law in the outsideworld does not provide for it. Why do most all answers requireprotection, at least initially? Because, even if an answer takes littleeffort to find, like the answer to the third question, it seems mostpeople would not supply it to AC if others could plagiarize it and storeit in under a slightly different question.

14.1 Laws of the Land

AC requires meta rules that spell out the property rights of suppliersand it needs functions that reflect those meta-rules. One criticalproperty right is a law against uncompensated copying (a copyright,which can last for a set period of time or until a certain amount ofincome is paid). Another critical property right is a law againstwrongfully changing an answer. Another critical property right is a lawagainst lying about an answer.

(Other key property rights were discussed in previous chapters. Chapter7 discussed the public and private domain. Chapter 8 describedreservation rights. These topics could have been discussed in thischapter as well.)

Of course we will arrive at no good definitions for these laws, becausethe definitions of copy/plagiarize, wrongfully change, and lie cannot bemade exact. For example, taking the hypothetical poll question above,say someone does a poll and enters the answer. Then say someone elsedoes another poll later and enters another result. Should the secondresult be considered a new answer? What if the second poll copied thetechnique of the first poll? What if the second result was not from atotally new poll but was a reinterpretation of the first result? What ifthe second poll answer was more accurate but combined new poll data withthe first poll's data?

While realizing that there are no good general rules, we can only saythat AC needs to include rules for defining property rights.

14.2 Functions for Enforcing Property Rights

To enforce property rights, AC needs four things:

1. Means for Verifying the Identity of Users

Before letting a user change an answer or any other valuable piece ofinformation in AC, AC needs to verify the user's identity. AC can usewell known authentication techniques that need no elaboration here.

2. Judges

AC needs judges who will rule on whether rights have been violated andwho will settle credit disputes. AC can enable users to file complaintswith judges who, as in conventional courts, can divide property and canassess penalties. (As an aside, we note that AC can keep “rap sheets” onusers.)

3. To Register and Display Detection Information

AC needs to display information that enables people to detectviolations. Thus AC automatically time stamps answers and can displaythe time stamps so that people can see which of two given answers haspriority.

As described in chapter 5, and a little later below, AC enables Sue toenter credit information along with her answer. This information, whichmight also be called citation information, shows which answers deservecredit as part of her answer, and how much they deserve, in the sense ofwhat split of royalties they deserve. AC displays citations so users canevaluate whether Sue has assigned proper credit.

4. Means for Detecting Violations

Below are four functions AC can include for detecting violations.

-   a. Alerts

AC can include a function for alerting Sue any time her answer has beendisplaced (knocked out of the current answer position) or changed in anyway. She can then file a complaint with a system judge if she feels thatthe change is wrong under AC's rules. (Note: AC can also alert Sue ifher answer has been commented on by others. Again, she can file acomplaint if she thinks her answer has been wrongly criticized. Thistopic will be discussed in chapter 13 on quality control labels, butthat chapter is not written up yet.)

-   b. Snitch

AC can include a function that enables any user to report plagiarism,and possibly get a reward, which possibly can be paid by the offender.The snitch can report the plagiarism to Sue or to a system judge.

-   c. Flip Flop Stopper

In order to cheat, a person might have a confederate change an accurateanswer to a wrong one. The person would then re-enter the answercorrectly and claim royalties. AC can have a function such that if ananswer reverts to a previous answer within a given period of time,royalties will be paid to the supplier of the previous answer, providedthe previous answer was accurate. The time allowed for reversion canvary depending on the situation.

-   d. Competition Tracker

As will be seen in Book II, AC can to some extent track which answersare taking sales away from a given answer. Sue can request thisinformation (or AC can send it automatically). Sue can then check thosecompeting answers to see if they contain plagiarized material.

14.3 Sharing Royalties

As mentioned above, it can be useful for AC to enable a person to copyall or part of an existing answer. As discussed, the term copy can covera very broad range of uses. For illustration's sake, we may imagine thatSue is trying to improve an existing answer or that she uses an existinganswer within her answer. For example, Sue may elaborate on a shortarticle or she may use a quote. And so AC has meta rules prescribingroyalty sharing, and functions enabling Sue to share royalties. (We havediscussed the necessity for these rules and functions in section 5.2e aswell.)

It is usually impractical for suppliers to engage in lengthynegotiations about the splitting of royalties. (Of course that dependsmainly on the value of the answer and the size of the royalty stream.)Thus AC can have standard royalty sharing plans based on someclassification of the uses of answers within other answers. In additionto standard royalty sharing plans, AC can enable users to specify that acertain percentage of royalties or certain fixed royalties are to go toanother answer.

As discussed in Chapter 9, it is up to Sue, not AC, to figure out howcredit should be split according to the property rights (the copy/creditrules) of AC. She must honestly assign credit realizing that others willbe watching her, and challenging her if they think she has hogged toomuch of the credit.

For royalty sharing to be implemented in an automated way, AC must havefunctions that enable Sue to enter credit information that:

-   a. identifies the answer(s) she owes credit to,-   b. identifies the type of credit (the amount of credit) that is    involved.    Further, AC needs functions that:-   c. transfer payments as specified by the credit information Sue has    entered.

AC stores Sue's credit information in the credit record for her answer,which is part of the answer's Q-A record. Then each time her answer isoutputted, the cited answer gets a share of the royalties as specifiedby the credit information. When the credit information is displayed, wealso call it citation information.

An answer may share royalties with more than one other answer directly.By directly we mean that Sue cites another answer.

It is obvious, though worth noting, that credit chains can be formedwhere one answer pays to a second answer, which pays to a third answer,and so on. In this sense, an answer can share royalties with anotheranswer indirectly. In other words, Sue might specify that a percentageof royalties are to be paid from her answer to a second answer. Thesecond answer might in turn—as specified in its credit record—shareroyalties with a third. Thus, Sue's answer will be sharing royaltieswith a third answer, even though she has not cited that answer.

(Note: Because it is often practical to negotiate about the splitting ofroyalties, AC can include functions for enabling users to buy and sellrights to use an answer. Negotiated splits are not treated differentthan splits where Sue unilaterally decides how much credit to allotanother Sue's answer. Negotiated splits are also entered as creditinformation so that AC can transfer payments as necessary, and so thatusers can see who owes what to whom.)

Chapter 15 Multi-Lingual AC

A great goal for AC is to be an international question and answer basewhere people can enter questions and answers in different languages:where a person can ask a question in, say, Swahili and get an answerback in Swahili that has been supplied originally in, say, English. Itis a great goal not just because of the ideal of internationalcooperation but because of the economics of the system. In general, themore people who are willing to pay for an answer the more likely it isto be supplied, and the less it will cost per person. If 5 peoplespeaking English want to know, What are the names of all the delegatesto the United Nations?, the pay-off may be too small to induce someoneto supply the answer. But if, say, 3 French speakers, 7 Japanesespeakers, 2 Russian speakers, and others speaking other languages alsowant the answer then it should usually have a better chance of beingsupplied and should cost each person less.

For the system to be multi-lingual, it needs to do two things:

-   A. Match up questions posed in different languages that ask for the    same answer.-   B. Input an answer in a given language and output the answer in    other languages.

There are many ways these tasks can be accomplished. Because it issimplest, we will first discuss a system that has a central languagesuch that all questions and answers are translated into the centrallanguage and answers are outputted from the central language. Afterdescribing the key steps involved with a central language model, we willdiscuss other models.

15.1 The Central Language Model

Matching up the Same Questions Posed in Different Languages

As mentioned in the section on best matching, the problem of matching upquestions in different languages is a best match problem withtranslation functions added. A translated question is often just anungrammatical question spoken in the language it has been translatedinto. The key step really is the matching step, which is also necessarywith questions posed in a single language.

We will take the case of two languages because this case illustrates thebasic steps involved. In our example, we assume the languages are Frenchand English and that the question is entered in French and translatedinto the central language, English. And we assume that the user wantsthe answer that corresponds to the question entered (the user may justbe passing through but we assume he is not). The steps that the systemrequires are shown below and pictured in FIG. 6.

-   1. Input 1500 French question string.    Anita Morris, comment-elle est morte?-   2. Translate 1501 French string into English string.    We pretend that the system translates the French into, How did Anita    Morris die?-   3. Check 1502 for match among English questions stored.-   4. Exact match found 1503?    -   If no, store 1504 the English version, create a demand record        for the question.    -   If yes, translate 1505 match into French and go to step 6.-   5. Best match(es) found 1506?    -   If no, output 1507 a message saying that no match was found and        enable the user to rephrase the question.    -   If yes, translate 1505 the best matches into French.        We will pretend that in AC there is a question, Anita Morris,        death of?, and that this question is the one that is the best        match found.-   6. Output 1508 translated match(es).

The best match string is returned to the French user for confirmation.We pretend that the translated version is, Anita Morris, la morte?

7. Have user confirm 1509 whether any match is adequate.

Rex now sees the string in French, but it is different than the one heentered originally, because it is a translation of the best match. SoRex has the choice of rejecting the translated match or not.

-   -   If he rejects it, the system can enable 1510 him to rephrase the        question.    -   If he accepts the best match, the system can then register 1511        demand information for the question, as posed in English. In        other words, at this point AC treats the situation as if an        English speaker has entered the question, Anita Morris, death        of?.

-   8. Check 1512 if the answer exists in English.    -   If no, output 1513 the POE and enable the user to rephrase the        question.    -   If yes, the translates 1514 answer into French and outputs 1515        it and the POE.        Why it's Feasible to Match Up Translated Questions

Let's see why questions in different languages can be translated andmatched well, even though we know that machine translation is a hardproblem. Well, is machine translation a hard problem? That depends onwhat you are doing. If you are translating a long piece of text thenproblems of interpretation mess the translation up. A translationprogram can't give multiple versions of each phrase in the piece becausethe result would be a jumble. But with short messages, like questions,multiple versions are possible. A program can make multipleinterpretations of a question and try these against a existing questionsin the system in a given language.

Then, when AC finds matches, it can translate these back into theoriginal language, giving multiple interpretations of these. That numberof versions can be manageable. And, because questions are usually short,the user can easily confirm a translation. Moreover, a user can easilyrephrase a question multiple ways, so as to have a good shot ofmatching. In other words, because questions are usually (not always)short, problems of interpretation can be overcome by both the user andAC trying different possibilities.

The system also can include a feature that enables a user to more easilycorrect a mistranslated word or phrase. When the best matches are poppedback, the system can enable the user to change some word or phrase andthen re-enter the question without having to restate the whole thing.

Translating Answers into Different Languages from Central Language

Matching up questions is one essential task of a multi-lingual AC. Theother is inputting answers in different languages and then outputtingthe answers in other languages. AC can include functions that translatean answer into a central language. From this language, the system cantranslate an answer into any other language.

However, the problem of translating answers can be tougher than that oftranslating questions because answers are often longer than questionsand therefore can suffer from the problems of machine translation. Thesystem can overcome this problem by enabling users to:

-   a. enter different language versions of an answer,-   b. enter improved versions of machine translations.

In order to do this, the system can accept an answer in any language andstore it in that language. For example, the system can store an answerin French. When necessary, it can be translated into English or Spanishor any other language that the system has translation functions for.

Now, as shown in FIG. 6 a, when Rex asks for an answer, the system canallow him to select 1520 the language he wants the answer in and canregister that choice and can enable 1521 Rex to make a payment offer(and enter any other D-info) for a human supplied answer in the languagethat Rex prefers. By registering D-info for the language Rex wants, ACcan create a POE 1523 for that answer in that language.

If a “human version” of the answer in the language Rex prefers is in AC,AC outputs it. By human version we mean that the answer was originallysupplied in the requested language, or that a supplier translated theanswer that was originally supplied in another language, or that asupplier improved a machine translation. If a human version is not inthe system, AC outputs a machine translation.

AC can also register demand for an improved translation, whereby a userwho gets a machine translation can request an improved translation (wedo not show this step in the figure).

Thus AC can create and output two POE's for an answer, one a combinedPOE 1522 based on all the requests for an answer regardless of language,and one POE 1523 for a human translated version of an answer in a givenlanguage.

A person seeing the POE for a given language can provide her own answerin that language or she can improve on a machine translation of ananswer that has already been entered. AC can output 1524 the humanversion if one is stored, otherwise AC outputs 1525 a machine version.The person who supplied the answer first may get the bulk of theroyalties while the person who improved the machine translation can geta share each time his improved translation is sold.

Thus AC can keep multi-lingual versions of an answer to correspond to aquestion, regardless of the language a question is posed in. And that isan important point: questions can be stored in various languages andneed not correspond to the languages of the answers.

15.2 Suburb Languages and Suburb AC's

We have discussed the central language method. Let us now let us discussa simple addition to it, which we will call the method of suburblanguages. We use the name suburb language in contrast to the namecentral language. The idea is that AC will store questions and answersnot only in the central language but in suburb languages as well. Thus,a person using a language can check first to see if a question andanswer are stored in that language rather than just in the centrallanguage.

The trick is that the questions and answers in every suburb languagewill be translated into and stored in the central language, but not ineach suburb language. We can think of AC as having a center (a centrallanguage) with suburbs such that all the material in the suburbs istranslated into (duplicated in) the center, but not vice versa.

So, AC translates every suburb language question into a central languageversion and AC translates every suburb language answer into a centrallanguage version, but not vice versa. We will call a question in asuburb language and its central language translation translation twins.The same name applies to answer pairs.

Along with storing questions in a suburb language AC will also keepcorresponding question records with Q-info that applies to thosequestions in that language. We will call the set of questions, answersand Q-records in a suburb language by the name suburb AC. And we willcall the set of questions, answers and Q-records in the central languageby the name central AC.

Why Have More than a Central Language AC?

Why have suburb AC? Because translations, especially machinetranslations, can lose meaning, and therefore it is preferable not totranslate. However, we want to translate for economic reasons of poolingdemand. So, we try to have the best of both worlds, giving nativespeakers the chance to have questions and answers supplied in their ownlanguage by people, but also taking advantage of the opportunity tomatch those questions and answers with those entered by people speakingother languages.

Most languages are spoken by large enough populations of native speakersthat they can support their own suburb AC's. The key is to duplicatethose suburb AC's into the larger central AC. In other words, as in thecentral language model with no suburb languages, the idea is totranslate questions and answers entered in any language into the centrallanguage. All we are doing is adding the suburbs.

Steps for a Central Language and a Suburb Language

Below we restate the basic ideas above, giving some specific steps foran AC that stores questions and answers in two languages. To illustratewe will consider a central language, English, and a suburb language,French. We will assume that the user's native language is French andthat he is using French questions and looking for French answers.

Key Definitions and Steps

A central language is the language that all questions and answers aretranslated into. A suburb language is a language whose questions andanswers are translated into central language versions. To illustrate thekey steps for a suburb language, we take a sample question and see whatAC does:

-   1. User enters French question, A quelle heure ouvre le Louvre?-   2. AC checks (its French suburb) to see if the question has any    exact matches.    -   a. If no,        -   a1. AC stores the question in French and creates a French            Q-record,        -   a2. AC translates the question into English, What time does            the Louvre open?, and checks if there is an exact match in            English already stored,            -   if no, AC stores the question and creates a central                Q-record,            -   if yes, AC adds a French request to the central                Q-record,        -   a3. AC checks for best matches in French and English.    -   b. If yes,        -   b1. AC adds to the tally of requests in the French Q-record,        -   b2. AC adds a French request to the tally in the central            Q-record,        -   b3. AC checks for an answer stored in French.            -   b1a. If yes, AC outputs the answer.            -   b1b. If no, AC checks for an answer stored in English.

If AC does not find an exact question match in French, we assume that itchecks for best matches in French and English (even if it finds an exactmatch in French, AC can still search for best matches in both languages)and decides whether to present best matches in French and English. Thepoint here is not the presentation of best matches. We assume that, allother things being equal, AC chooses a French match. The point here isthat questions get translated and duplicated into the central languageand that Q-info registered in the suburb AC also gets registered in thecentral AC.

Thus, when a user expresses a preference for French, AC checks first formatches of French questions and answers. At the same time it translateseverything into English so that people from other languages can pooldemand for the same answers, and can enter answers to those questions.

(AC can still enable French speakers to explicitly express demand foranswers to be supplied in French by enabling French speakers to makepayment offers for having an answer provided in French.)

Now, where answers are concerned, when a French user enters an answer,AC would store the French version in the French suburb and thentranslate it into English, if no English version is already in AC. So,when a French user goes to find the answer, he can get a French answersupplied by a French speaker. When an English speaker goes to get theanswer, he will get a version translated from the French, if no Englishversion has been supplied.

If there is no French answer in AC, AC searches for an English version.If an English version exists, AC translates it and outputs it. Ofcourse, if there is more than one suburb, the answer may originally havecome from some third language.

(Note, we are not concerned here with how AC stores machine translatedanswers.)

Security Council Model

It should also be noted that AC will probably have more than one centrallanguage. It will probably have what we might call Security Councillanguages—those languages that represent the greatest populations, suchas English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Hindi.

The questions and answers and question records contained in each centralAC would be translated into all the other central AC's.

15.3 Translating Questions Into Multiple Languages

AC may not have a central language at all. It can translate questionsinto multiple languages, trying various ones until it gets a match. Whena user enters a question, AC first checks if a match exists in thelanguage of the question. If not, AC can translate the question intomultiple languages and look for the best match. The translationprocedure described above can then follow. For example, if a Frenchspeaker asks when the Louvre opens, AC checks first whether any otherFrench speaker has asked this question. If no good match exists, thequestion can be translated into various languages until a good match, ifany, is found.

AC can store the multi-lingual versions of a question in a commonrecord, like a multi-lingual dictionary/thesaurus entry for a question(a bi-lingual dictionary, like French-English, is really a thesaurus).For example, a question can be translated from French into English. If auser confirms the translation then AC keeps a record for the questionand this record has two versions of the question. Then let us say thatthe question is entered in Spanish and that it is translated into Frenchand that this translation is confirmed. AC would have three versions of“the” question in the record. AC will have done two translations, one ofthe French into the English and one of the Spanish into the French.Which languages get translated into which depends on AC's rules.

When AC keeps multi-lingual versions of a question, the demand tally forthat question is based on the sum of the times the question has beenentered in each language. If the question has been entered 4 times inJapanese, 3 times in French, and 2 times in English then the tally is 9.AC can keep a combination tally as well as a tally by language.

As discussed in chapter 4, there is no single Q-string for a question.So rather than lump questions into a single synonym record, it ispreferable to store the questions separately and connect them by namedlinks, such as synonym links, best match links, best translation links,and others. We take up links in Book II, where we will revisit the issueof translation.

Chapter 16 Form of the Invention

On one hand, this chapter should not be so short because it describesapplications of AC that may come to pass with large commercial effects.

On the other hand, there is not much new to describe. These applicationsare only small modifications of the invention described in the previouschapters. We discuss these modifications because they have such largecommercial potential and because there may be issues of priority.

16a Decentralized AC

It is worthwhile to pause and discuss the form of the invention. Becauseit is to be used by a community of people in different locations, theinvention comprises a network in which terminals in various locationsare used to input questions and supply answers.

The answers can be stored centrally or in nodes throughout the network.For example, certain users might request the full text of Dracula. Otherusers might want the film version of Dracula. These two, differentanswers can be stored centrally. Or the text of Dracula, the book, mightbe stored in a computer owned by, say, the Library of Congress, whilethe film might be stored in a computer owned by, say, a film studio.Because of the added communications costs, highly decentralized storageof answers is not usually the most efficient method where AC isconcerned. Nevertheless, real world concerns might dictate suchdecentralization. A movie studio, for example, might not want to put itscopyrighted movie in someone else's computer for distribution to thepublic.

(One problem in discussing the issue of centralized storage is that thevery concept of centralized storage is blurry in this age of sprawlingnetworks. We will not try to define the notion crisply here, but willrely on peoples' intuitive notions.)

While the storage of answers may be decentralized, the gathering ofdemand information in Q-records (and the calculation and outputting ofPOE's) must, in general, be centralized. For example, say we have aquestion, How many paintings are in the Louvre?, and say that a dozenusers request the answer to this question. It does no good if the twelverequests are all registered on different systems. There needs to be acentral tally showing that there have been twelve requests for theanswer, so that the POE corresponds to the demand of twelve people.Otherwise the POE in each system would only correspond to one request.

In fact, the goal of AC is to collect the demand for a given answercentrally. That way the pay-off for supplying the answer is higher.Often, the higher the pay-off the more likely the answer will besupplied into the system. Moreover, the answer can cost less per user.If the collection of demand is not centralized then there is no way toaccumulate the demand and that defeats the purpose of the system. Ofcourse it is conceivable that the demand could be registered throughoutthe system but it would still have to be tallied somewhere to yield afigure which would then lead to the maximal POE.

(Note: Not only demand information must be collected centrally but somust most other Q-record information. We emphasize demand informationbecause it is the key information for calculating POE's.)

The economic efficiency of accumulating demand information does not meanthat it is necessarily best for a single AC to store all the world'squestions and Q-records. An AC is meant to be used by a community and acommunity can be defined narrowly. For example, a company might have anAC for its employees. Still demand information (and other Q-recordinformation) for answers concerning the company would be storedcentrally and not in every employee's computer.

We have mentioned that answers might be stored in a decentralizedmanner. If AC does not store answers centrally, it must at least storepointers to the answers centrally. For example, if Rex asks for a givenanswer, AC must be able to tell if the answer is in the system or not.To do this, an A-stats identifies whether the answer is in and where itis located. Thus a pointer to an answer is surrogate for storing theanswer itself. In the case of decentralized storage of answers then, asupplier who enters an answer into the system has to enter a pointercentrally while entering the answer into a given storage computer. ACcan connect users to the computer that stores the answer.

Another aspect of AC that can be decentralized is the paying ofroyalties and the collecting of charges. This can be done at the nodeswhere the answers are stored. However, even if payments are transactedin a decentralized manner, payment information would still be sent tothe central AC location because it is important demand information to beused in calculating pay-off estimates.

It is also possible that AC only outputs routing (pointer) informationto Rex but does not make the connection to the computer that stores agiven answer. In this case, AC is really a new kind of signaling systemthat tells users where answers are stored and tells users the potentialpay-off of storing and selling the answers.

16b AC Applied to the World of Physical Products

It should be apparent that AC can be adapted to the world of physicalproducts. By this we mean that instead of describing answers(information products), questions in AC can describe physical productsthat people want. Thus, AC can include lands where questions refer tophysical products rather than answers.

(We will not define the term physical product in any precise way. Let usjust say that a physical product is something that one might find in aconventional catalogue.)

Normally, a question is a description of an answer. It is a descriptionof a description. When adapted to describing a physical product, aquestion is about an actual thing.

But the distinction is more philosophical than real. As far as theprocess of description goes, there is no difference between describing aT-shirt and describing a picture of a T-shirt. The main practicaldifference, where AC is concerned, is that the description of an actualT-shirt refers to something that cannot be entered into the system.Rather than supplying physical products to AC, suppliers input productdescriptions and ordering information.

The main point is that AC can collect demand information about physicalproducts and can output POE's about physical products. The collecting ofdemand information is basically the same as with answers.

AC can also execute transactions for the buying of actual products andcan arrange the delivery of physical products.

For example, AC can collect demand for a given T-shirt which isdescribed by a question. If the POE is high enough, a supplier mightdecide to make the T-shirt. A supplier who has made the T-shirt cansupply to AC the fact that the T-shirt has been produced and also supplyordering information. The fact that the T-shirt is available is ananswer to the question describing the T-shirt.

A requester, seeing that the T-shirt is available, can order it throughAC. Previous requesters may have made buying commitments before theT-shirt was produced. The terms of these commitments can be fulfilledwhen the T-shirt is made.

The supplier may also supply a more detailed description of the T-shirt,such as a picture of the T-shirt. This additional description is thenseen by prospective buyers. It is a kind of supply stat.

Whether a supplier also provides a description of her actual product ornot, the reality of endless answers remains. It does not matter if weare thinking of physical or information products. A question can haveinfinite possible answers. Thus the techniques of Book II are asapplicable to physical products as they are to answers.

And so, AC provides a novel system not only for organizing the gettingof answers, but for the getting of physical products.

Book II Enabling the System to Accommodate Natural Language Backgroundof Book II

Book II presents methods for enabling AC to handle natural languagequestions and answers. Some explanation is in order though about howthis book was written.

CIP 2 addressed the issue of natural language and introduced a methodfor using linked questions to overcome problems with accommodatingnatural language. The new matter in CIP 3 expanded on the relationshipbetween questions and answers in AC, as well as describing othersubjects. CIP 3 included the new matter in CIP 2 as Book II.

In this application, CIP 4, Book II is repeated and added to. Except forsome name changes, the material in chapters 20 and 21 is a repeat ofmaterial in CIP 2.

CIP 3 (basically chapters 3-8 of Book I) discussed the nature ofquestions and answers more than CIP 2 did. Therefore, some of thediscussion of CIP 3 overlaps the discussion in CIP 2, and parts of BookII seem to repeat parts of Book I. But the parts in Book II were writtenfirst. If this were simply a paper of explanation, the repetitive partswould be deleted. But because it is a patent application, there arelegal reasons, having to do with priority, for not changing what waswritten in previous applications. (Some parts of CIP 2 are put in theappendix for the sake of avoiding legal problems with a modifiedspecification.)

CIP 2 disclosed the method of using semantic links between questions inorder to solve problems with accommodating natural language. In CIP 4,this application, chapter 22, which is mostly new, elaborates on thesemantic linking of questions. Chapter 23 describes various kinds oflinks between questions. Some of chapter 23 is repeated from CIP 2,where important semantic links were disclosed. And some of the chapteris new, where new links are described.

The rest of the chapters in Book II are mainly made up of new matter.And, as in Book I, several of the chapters are not yet written.

The new discussion does not nullify the old, but simply adds to it and,it is hoped, elucidates certain issues. For example, the term the “sameanswer” is discussed in more detail. There have also been somesuperficial changes in names. For example, Requestor and Supplier havebeen changed to Rex and Sue.

Table of Contents for Book II

Background of Book II

-   Chapter 20 Problems of Natural Language-   Chapter 21 A Solution to the Endless Answers Problem-   Chapter 22 Linking Questions Semantically-   Chapter 23 Kinds of Semantic Links Between Questions-   Chapter 24 Semantic Links Between Actual Answers-   Chapter 25 Combining Demand Information-   Chapter 26 Follow Questions, Situation Stations and Elaboration    Lists-   Chapter 27 Multi-lingual Q-nets

Chapter 20 Problems of Natural Language

Introduction

The foundation task of AC, the one that the other key tasks are basedon, is to count the number of people who want a given answer. The systemmust get a reasonably accurate count of how many people seek the sameanswer because it is from this number the system estimates of the futuresales and POE of the answer.

For the system described in CIP 1 to get a good count, people mustusually agree on the meanings of the questions that they enter into thesystem, and so, the meanings need to be highly constrained. For example,the question, Billy Budd?, theoretically could correspond to an infinitenumber of different answers. In a given AC, the meaning would ideally beconstrained to a single one, say, a phone number, a movie, a book, andso on. Otherwise, the system could not count how many people wanted theanswer for there would be no single answer.

Besides reasons of tallying demand, highly constrained meanings areused, as in most data-bases, so that people can find answers.Constrained meanings for queries are necessary because computers cannotunderstand natural language. For instance, when a person asks theLibrary of Congress computer about books that Herman Melville haswritten, the user must enter, Browse Melville, Herman. The user cannotenter, Hey, what books did Herman Melville write? In the case of AC,where users not only enter questions but also enter the correspondinganswers, it is especially important that users agree on what validanswers are, that is, agree on the interpretation of the questions.Therefore, with the system of CIP 1, a system designer or operator wouldstrive to set rules that strictly limit how users interpret thequestions entered into the system. No set of rules can succeed perfectlyif the questions and answers deal with the real world, but the goal isto reduce ambiguity as much as possible.

You Can Do A Lot

As the success of computer data-bases attests, you can do a lot withconstrained queries, even if the queries are just names. Names cannaturally correspond to information such as phone numbers, addresses andprices and so this type of information is readily collected in an AC.And since names can correspond to most anything, AC can readily collectmore than short pieces of information. In fact, the original name of ACwas the MOAE, a strange acronym standing for the Mother Of AllEncyclopedias. This name came from the fact that AC lends itself tocreating a gigantic encyclopedia with entries corresponding to subjectnames. The names could be about any subject people care to know about,from the acoustic properties of jello to the role of jello in the lastPresidential election.

A given MOAE would still need special rules for defining a satisfactoryanswer though. These rules could allow a lot of flexibility. One suchrule could be that an answer that is outputted and credited withroyalties is an answer that is voted best by users. In this case, thesystem would include rules whereby certain users would vote for the bestanswer to a question, or the best answer under a certain number ofwords. Rules like this would allow a variety of possible answers to beentered into the system, and yet the answers that could be outputted atany one time would still be very limited.

The Goal of Processing Natural Language Questions

The scope of AC would be greatly broadened if people could ask itunconstrained, ambiguous, natural language questions, as if they weretalking to a person or the computer on the Starship Enterprise. It wouldbe nice to be able to ask AC a question like, Hey, what books did HermanMelville write?, and get the answer one was looking for. But naturallanguage poses problems for AC because when a user enters a naturallanguage question it is not clear what answer the user is looking for.And if it is not clear what answer is wanted then AC cannot estimate avalue for the answer.

Why is the answer not clear though? And can we enable the system tohandle natural language questions and answers? Let us, for a moment,discuss natural language, by which we mean words and sentences peoplecommunicate with.

Natural Language

Words and sentences are things we use to refer to other things. As asynonym for “refer to” we also say that words and sentences “mean,”“describe,” “represent,” “denote,” “correspond to,” “match,” and“signify” things. These terms seem simple enough but, of course, we donot actually understand how this correspondence process works; we justrealize that words and sentences in our brains somehow do correspond tothings outside our brains and to ideas that may be only in our brains.

One fact we know about the process is that a word or sentence can referto many things, even an infinite number of things. Take the word“drive”. What does it refer to? That depends on the situation. And sincethe number of possible situations is infinite, the word “drive” canpotentially refer to innumerable things. It depends on what situation aperson has in mind. Therefore, to determine the meaning of a what issaid, one usually needs a great deal of context or a lengthy descriptionof a situation. Even then the meaning is still personal and variable inthe sense that it depends on a how a person views the situation.

Agreement Necessary

To communicate successfully with words and sentences, we must agree witheach other about what those words and sentences refer to, a fact that isespecially obvious to anyone who has listened to a foreign language. So,while words and sentences can potentially refer to infinite things, inpractice they usually refer to a certain set of things that we generallyagree on. Such a set itself may be infinite but it does not contain allthings. So in fact, the meanings of words and sentences are veryconstrained compared to all the possible meanings they could have. Andthis fact makes communication with words and sentences possible.

Still words and sentences can refer to enough things that an agreementprocess is necessary. While this agreement process is not wellunderstood either, we do know that an essential part of it is theprocess of clarifying what is said.

To Humans, What is a Question?

Now when someone asks us a question that needs clarifying, what is itthat we are trying to clarify? Well, we are trying to clarify whatinformation the person is seeking. But what then is a question that it“asks” for information?

That is a mystery will not be cleared up here. All we can say is that aquestion describes an answer, describes what information a person islooking for. The description does not tell all about an answer but tellsenough so we know what answers can fit the description. Thus we canthink of a question as a label on a black box and think of thecorresponding answer as an item hidden in the box.

The problem with natural language labels is that an infinity of thingscould be in the box. So there is no such thing really as the answer to anatural language question. A multitude of answers can fit thedescription of a question-label and can be considered an answer. Thatdoes not mean all answers can fit the description, just that there is aninfinity that can.

Ambiguity, a Problem for AC

All this poses a problem for the system of CIP 1 because, as mentioned,the key functions of AC depend on an agreed on, unambiguouscorrespondence between questions and answers. For the system to workbest, a question should have a single answer. The system presumes thatthe same question strings (in the sense of a string of symbols that is)correspond to the same answers because to a machine the same questionmeans the same question string. The system, being a machine, recognizesstrings, not the meanings of the strings to humans.

To humans, the same string can refer to different answers. For example,say three people enter the following string into AC:

-   -   What is the definition of “drive”?        Now we know this string can refer to innumerable definitions,        just three being:

-   To push or urge forward.

-   In baseball, to propel (the ball) swiftly, as by a hard or direct    stroke.

-   A road prepared for driving, esp. for leisure driving, as in a park.

Should AC register that there are three requests for the answercorresponding to this question? Not necessarily. Rex's may want threedifferent answers and only one request should be registered for each.But how is the system to recognize that? How is the system to recognizewhich answers Rex's want? How is the system to know if the desiredanswers are in the system? And how even would a human know which answerto supply?

The problem seems daunting when one realizes that even seeminglyspecific questions like, How far is it to Chicago from Washington D.C.?,are actually quite vague. How far in miles? In inches? In the time ittakes to get from Chicago to Washington by foot, by car, by plane, bytransporter beam? From what point in Washington to what point inChicago? By what measurement method? According to whom? In what year? Inwhat season? At what time of day? On a map or in reality? And so on.

Flexibility, Another Problem

Now let us consider another problem that comes about because of theambiguity of natural language and also because of what is often calledthe flexibility of natural language. By flexibility we mean that we caneasily say the same thing in many, even infinite ways. For humans,different words and sentences can refer to the same thing. Thus peoplecan enter different question strings into AC and have the same answer inmind. That's a problem for AC because the machine cannot recognize thesame question in the human sense. To humans the string is not the point,the point is the answer being sought. To humans the same question meansthat the same answer is being sought. The machine cannot recognize theanswer being sought though. To repeat, it recognizes strings, not theirhuman meanings.

Let's say that our three people have read the same passage in a book andall three want to know the meaning of “drive” in this passage. In thiscase they are looking for the same answer. But in this imaginary caselet us assume that they enter:

-   -   What is the definition of “drive”?    -   What does “drive” mean?    -   How do you define “drive”?        How then is the system to recognize three requests for that        answer rather than one request for three different answers?

This problem also seems daunting because of the infinite possible waysto ask the same question, in the sense that the same answer is beingsought. Continuing from a previous example, a person in Washington D.C.might want to know how many miles it is to Chicago and ask, How manymiles is it to Chicago? or What's the distance to Chicago? or How far isit to Chicago? or Where is Chicago from here? and so on.

So not only can a question be a sign for a multitude of differentanswers but a single answer can be labeled by a multitude of signs.

Two Problems of Natural Language Restated

Let's recall the foundation task of the system: to count how many peopleseek the same answer. If the system is to process natural languagequestions, we see at least two obstacles to accomplishing this task:

-   1. For any question string, there are potentially infinite answers.    We might also call this the endless answers problem.-   2. For any answer, there are potentially infinite questions strings.    We might also call this the matching up questions problem.    What Follows

In the following sections we will describe solutions to these problems.First we will point out how well known best match algorithms can providean initial solution to the matching up questions problem. Then we willfocus on solving the endless answers problem. Some of the solutions wedescribe can also be used to solve the matching up questions problem ina new way.

To AC, What is a Question? A Bazaar Analogy is Given

Before plunging into these solutions, let us paint a picture, by way ofanalogy, of what a question is in AC. The picture will not be of just aquestion string but of all the information that is stored along with thestring, and further, of what users can do when they have arrived at thisquestion-record, which we will usually refer to just as a question. Theanalogy will not introduce any new ideas but give a more visual way oflooking at questions within the system. This picture should help us keeptrack of the new things we will be adding to questions in latersections. In this analogy the data-base is a bazaar where answers arebought and sold.

It is said that the bazaar began long ago with a single peddler, a mannamed Borges they say, though no one is sure. Some come to the bazaarseeking answers and are called buyers. Others come bearing answers andare called producers. Though the bazaar was once crowded with peoplehawking their wares at stands and stalls, time has passed since thebeginning and, though-no one knows exactly when, robots took over. Therobots care nothing for answers, only for running the bazaar. Why theydo this is unknown.

People are the only ones who supply answers for they are the only oneswho can venture out of the bazaar into the real world. There is anexception. Certain kinds of answers are made by combining andmanipulating answers already in the bazaar. Robots can and do producethese answers using the materials humans supply.

People being people, disputes arise. But the robots care nothing for thedisputes of humans and so the bazaar has human judges. These arewandering philosophers who spend most of their time in thought. Anyonecan ask the robots to fetch one to mediate a dispute. Legend has it thatthe philosophers have more to do with the operation of the bazaar thanmeets the eye.

In the old days, a buyer who could not find an answer would build asmall stand and post a handwritten sign offering a reward to anyone whowould supply the answer. Others who wanted the same answer could findthat stand and write an offer of additional money. Eventually, someonemight supply the answer to the stand and then that person or his agentwould stay there, selling the answer.

In this age, whenever a buyer asks for a new answer, states a newquestion that is, the robots of the bazaar construct a stand for thatquestion and place it in its own location in the bazaar. In this age, astand is a machine. It is an electronic sign with information about ananswer, a vending machine that may sell an answer and, a polling stationthat collects information about buyer interest in the answer.

A question is a sign that stands twenty feet tall describing a product.(In the bazaar the products are answers but one can think of a productas anything, a pair of pants, a map, a movie, anything.) The sign isalso a meeting spot where people go to find out about the product. Andso the sign may also tell whether the product is in stock, what theprice is, what the reward may be for supplying the product. Thisinformation may change and can be revealed at different times, dependingon the type of product it is.

A question is also a vending machine that can dispense the product andcollect money. In order for the product to be there, it must be broughtby a producer, who then gets a part of the sales. With some questions, abuyer can agree to pay for the product by pressing a button on themachine. With other questions, just the arrival of the buyer means thathe buyer agrees to pay for the product if it is there. With stillothers, the buyer must make an offer and the machine can decide whetheror not to accept it. Sometimes a buyer can see the price of the answerin advance, other times not. The machine automatically identifies thebuyer and charges him by debiting his account at the bazaar's bank.Money is electronic now, though some speak of the time when peoplecarried gold and defended themselves with long knives.

A question also is a polling station. Each buyer's offer is recordedalong with the time of the offer, whether a buyer has made an offerbefore and, whether a buyer has actually bought. From this data, themachine projects the sales of the product and displays the projection.Many scoff at this predicting, some call it fortunetelling, and it istrue that many predictions have failed.

Because it is an automated, multi-purpose sign, a question is sometimescalled a signomat. Other times it is just called a sign.

No one knows where signomats are located relative to each other. Thebazaar is now a vast place and no one has surveyed it. Some say it isinfinite. Other say it cannot be. In the old days, people traveled fordays to come to the bazaar and had to travel by foot to find answers.Now the bazaar sends vehicles, called hypercabs, to anyone interested inbuying or providing answers. The cabs have meters that keep track of allthe moves that buyers and producers make. The cabs take riders to anysignomat desired. All a rider has to do is state a question and the cabwill take him, at terrific speed, to the signomat that displays thatquestion. The cabs are so well made that no one yet has complained ofthe driving.

20.1 Initial Solution to the Problem of Matching Up Questions

As mentioned, the matching up questions problem is that people can enterdifferent question strings but mean the same thing. (While thediscussion below applies to both Rex's and Sue's, the term Rex willsignify both types of users because it is simpler just to talk about Rexand because it is Rex's we are more concerned with.)

The goal then is for the system to match up strings that are differentbut, from each Rex's point of view, correspond to the same answer.Another important goal is to match up different questions where Rex'swant “basically” the same answer. We will not define this concept herebut just point out that rather than an identical answer, an answer thatis close enough may do.

An obvious solution is to use best match algorithms, many of which arewell known in the art. After Rex enters a question, the best matchalgorithm would find the question already stored in the system that bestmatches the question entered. The system may enable users to entermultiple phrasings of a question, all of which can be used to arrive ata “best” match. (Of course, there may be multiple “best” matches.) ACwould then show the best match(es) and ask Rex to confirm whether anymatch was satisfactory. If no match was satisfactory, Rex could rephrasethe original question or stop.

Assuming that the best match is satisfactory and taking the previousexample of three people asking for the definition of the word “drive,”let us imagine that already in AC is the question string:

-   -   What does the word “drive” mean?        Now say that the following three questions are entered by        different Rex's:    -   What is the definition of “drive”?    -   What does “drive” mean?    -   How do you define “drive?”        In each case, we imagine that the system finds the best match        and it is:    -   What does the word “drive” mean?

Once Rex has confirmed that the best match is satisfactory, basicallythree situations can occur with regard to an answer. No answer may existin the system for the best match question. One answer may exist. Or,multiple answers may exist.

What then does the system do? That depends on the rules of theparticular AC. In the following sections we will describe some usefulprocedures for handling these situations. For now, we say that the bestmatch is above all a way to jump into AC (the data-base) and possiblyland at a spot where others have been before. If Rex is satisfied with adrop off point then he can proceed. If not, he can try again.

Though we have spent little space on the best match step, we do not wantto shortchange its importance and will discuss it more later. Suffice tosay for now that it is an essential starting point for matching upnatural language questions because a user seeking an answer usually willrarely enter the exact same question string as other users seeking the“same” answer.

Once Rex has confirmed that a best match question is a satisfactorystart, then we come to the endless answers problem.

Chapter 21 A Solution to the Endless Answers Problem

Recap

As mentioned, the endless answers problem is that different Rex's mayenter the same question string into AC but have different answers inmind. For example, each Rex entering Where is the ballgame? may bethinking of a different game. Thus, AC needs to have a way for Rex's todistinguish the answers they want even though they enter the samequestion string initially.

Further, the problem is that different Sue's may want to supplydifferent answers to a question. One may want to supply “Fenway Park,”another, “Yankee Stadium,” another, “George Mason Field,” and so on.Thus, AC needs to have a way for Sue's to give different answers to thesame question string.

One Solution

One possibility is to store all the answers together under the samequestion string so that all the answers are outputted in response to thequestion. Yet this way is only suitable for special types of questionsthat require “composite” answers. For example, the answer to, “Whatcompanies in the U.S. make steel?” can include partial answers suppliedby many users, each contributing the name of a different steelmaker asan answer. These multiple answers can be combined and stored as a listunder the single question above.

Generally though, combining different answers leads to problems. Firstof all, it is usually impractical to output all the different answersusers might supply to a question. Further, it is not possible for Rex toindicate which answer he wants. Thus, it is usually impractical torecord the demand, and calculate a POE, for each answer individually.Also, if Rex only wants one of the answers, it is usually unreasonableto charge him for multiple answers. And further, it is usuallyimpractical to credit Sue's.

Requirements of a Good Solution

A good solution to the endless answers problem should enable AC todistinguish between answers so that:

-   1. Rex's can signify which individual answers they want without    signifying answers they don't want.-   2. Rex's can find the individual answers they want without finding    answers they don't want.-   3. AC can maintain a distinct demand record for each individual    answer.-   4. Sue's can enter different answers.-   5. Users can be charged for the individual answers they receive and    credited for the individual answers they supply.    A Better Solution

In the following sections we will describe an interface and data storageprocedure that enables AC to do all of the above, not perfectly, butwell enough to serve in a broad range of cases. While this methodinvolves many steps, they all stem from a couple of operations thatallow both Rex's and Sue's to rephrase questions in a certain way. Theoperations are these:

-   1. Rex who enters a first question can enter a second, more specific    question and link it to the first, less specific question.    So if Rex enters a question and receives an answer that he does not    want he can enter a more specific question that better describes the    answer he wants and he can link that question to his original    question.-   2. Sue who attempts to supply an answer to a first question can    enter a more specific question and link it to the first, less    specific question. And Sue can then enter an answer to the more    specific question.    So, in a sense, an answer to a question can be a more specific    question together with an answer to that more specific question.    That way, when Rex enters a question, what can pop up is a more    specific question, and possibly, its answer. We say possibly because    AC initially might only reveal multiple more specific questions,    allowing Rex to pick one that has the answer he wants.

These two operations give Rex's and Sue's the critical ability torephrase a question so as to give a more specific description of theanswer they want or of the answer they have supplied. The linking stepis also critical because it allows users to “travel” from a question toa linked more specific question.

Before explaining how the rephrasing rules can be implemented, here areexamples that illustrate more specific questions and show the generalityof the approach.

Illustrations

-   What's IBM's phone number?    -   What's IBM's phone number in Armonk?    -   What's IBM's phone number for toll-free support?-   What is 2+3?    -   What is 2+3 in Roman numerals?    -   What is 2+3 in the philosophy of Frege?-   What is the square root of 2?    -   What is the square root of 2 to five decimal places?-   What is the definition of entropy?    -   In 50 words, what is the definition of entropy?    -   In 5000 words by Fermi, what is the definition of entropy?-   A-4 paper?    -   A-4 paper sellers?        -   A-4 paper sellers in Washington D.C.?-   Was Casablanca a good movie?    -   Was Casablanca a good movie according to Siskel and Ebert?    -   Was Casablanca a good movie according to Siskel and Ebert; what        is the full text of what they said?        -   Was Casablanca a good movie according to Siskel and Ebert            and what is the full text of what they said on their show?        -   Was Casablanca a good movie according to Siskel and Ebert            and what is the full text of what they said in their            columns?-   How do you get a passport?    -   How do you get a passport as fast as possible?        -   How do you get a passport as fast as possible in Norway?-   How do you make a chocolate chip cookie?    -   How do you make a chocolate chip cookie on an open fire?    -   How do you make a chocolate chip cookie that is toll house?-   Blurgil smookle?    -   Blurgil smookle means what in the code of masterspy “L”?-   What is the text of the decision in the Merrill Lynch CMA patent    case?    -   What is the decision in the Merrill Lynch CMA patent case, in        abstract form?    -   What is the decision in the Merrill Lynch CMA patent case, full        text that is?        -   What is the decision in the Merrill Lynch CMA patent case,            full text that is plus commentaries?            Specific Enough

By entering a more specific question can Rex describe exactly the answerhe wants and can Sue describe exactly the answer she has provided? Thatdepends on whether you believe that a natural language question can everbe perfectly exact. Usually, if not always, a more specific questionwill still have infinite possible answers. But by describing more Rexhas a better chance of receiving an answer that will satisfy him. And bydescribing more Sue has a better chance of indicating what informationan answer contains. However, describing too much can be inefficient.Thus AC allows Rex's and Sue's to use their common sense when asking forand supplying answers.

The operations above enable users to act somewhat like they would act ina natural conversation. For example, say you ask a friend the followingquestion,

-   -   Is there a restaurant around here where I can get some dinner?        And say the friend supplies the following answer,    -   McDonald's is around the corner.        But you dislike McDonald's so you rephrase the question by        adding information,    -   I mean a good restaurant?        This rephrasing is, of course, analogous in AC to when Rex sees        an answer he doesn't like and rephrases his original question.        Another possibility is that your friend supplies more        information to your question, for example, she supplies a more        specific question and an answer, such as:    -   You want Southern food? There's a place at the Foundry Building.        This rephrasing is analogous in AC to when Sue enters a more        specific question and an answer to that question.

Most conversations reveal that it is somewhat of a myth that peopleunderstand natural language. Of course people do, but often not atfirst. People usually arrive at an understanding by a certain kind ofback and forth questioning and answering. When the meaning of a questionis ambiguous, they know to ask for more information (they ask for a morespecific question).

The operations above allows both Rex's and Sue's to enter more specificquestions. And the link created between two questions allows users tofind a more specific question even though they have initially enteredone that is less specific.

We should keep in mind that while users do ask AC questions, they arereally addressing other users. AC is a communication system. So whilethe system cannot understand natural language, it can enable people tobetter communicate their intentions. As with natural conversation, thequestions in AC can get more and more specific so an original questioncan have a more specific question linked to it and then that questioncan have a more specific question linked to it, and so on, and so forth.The reason all this works is that eventually, through asking morespecific questions, we can describe the answer we want so that ourfellow human beings understand, usually, what it is we want.

Advantages of the Approach

Enabling both Rex and Sue to link more specific questions to a givenfirst question has many advantages. Among other things, it:

-   a. Allows Rex to state a question that better signifies which answer    he wants out of endless possible answers.-   b. Allows Rex to find a question that better signifies which answer    he wants.-   c. Allows as many answers to a single question as users want to    supply.-   d. Allows Sue to label an answer with alternative questions.-   e. Allows Rex to see the question-labels and choose the answers he    wants given what the labels describe.-   f. Allows AC to first output only question-labels before outputting    corresponding answers. (This yields at least two advantages. One,    time is saved because full answers do not have to be outputted. Two,    AC can conceal an answer until Rex agrees to pay for it.)-   g. Allows AC to output a single answer to a given first question.-   h. Allows Rex to be charged for individual answers and allows Sue to    be credited for individual answers.    What Do We Mean by a More Specific Question?

Now that we have decided to use more specific questions, we shoulddefine them. However, we cannot give a precise definition. Only in rarecases is more specific well defined. These cases occur when we have afinite set of possible answers, say phone numbers. We can say that weare being more specific when we narrow down the list of numbers(answers) by providing more information. For example, take the question,What is the phone number of John Smith?. Assuming we are dealing withthe real world, at some instant in time, and assuming that all JohnSmith's do not live at the same address, and assuming no othershenanigans, a more specific question is, What is the phone number ofJohn Smith at 14 Cherry Lane?.

But since natural language questions have infinite possible answers wecannot define a more specific question as one that narrows down a listof answers. We can say that it narrows down a list in a data-base but,we cannot say it narrows down all the possible answers.

Perhaps the term more specific is not a good one. People use the term todescribe a variety of situations that are not the same. The truth is, wedo not understand specificity well, just as we do not understand ideaswell. Still we are going to stick with the term more specific herebecause it is as good as any other in getting the point across. We willtry to give a certain interpretation to it though.

In AC, the key to a more specific question is the purpose it serves. Thepurpose is to better describe an answer relative to the description inanother question. We say that a question, Qn, is more specific thananother question, Q, when Qn:

-   -   1. matches the description of Q and    -   2. includes different descriptive material.

You can see this definition in operation in the illustrations above. Bythis definition, a more specific question does not mean that a questionhas more bits than another or that a question “seems” more specific thananother. For example, What is in that goblet? cannot be compared to Whatis in that swimming pool, by chemical composition, temperature, volumeand density? We intuitively feel that the second question is morespecific but, by our definition, the two questions are not evencompared. A question is more specific than a first question only when itmatches the description stated in the first and includes differentdescriptive material. Another word for matches the description is fitthe description. In other words then, the more specific question mustitself fit the original, less specific question. Of course, whether ornot the Qn “fits” Q is subjective.

One result of this definition is that an answer to the more specificquestion should always be an answer to the less specific question, forwhen stating a more specific question, a person is not supposed to bechanging what he was originally looking for, he is just supposed to begiving a better description.

Even though we cannot get into a philosophical discussion of how humansmatch descriptions to other description or to some subject, we candivide more specific questions into two broad types which we will callrestricted and unrestricted.

A Restrictive Definition of “More Specific”

We said that Qn must fit the description of Q and include differentdescriptive material. One way to do this is for Qn to repeat Q and thenadd information. The illustrations above all fit this definition. Belowis another example, this time with four questions, listed from leastspecific to most:

-   Q1 What is in the can?-   Q2 that has no label on it?-   Q3 and that you are holding?-   Q4 in your left hand?

Still, the term the “repeat” Q is a little ambiguous for when we addinformation to Q we can add to the front, to the back, or in between.Or, we can do some combination of all three. For example,

-   Q: What is the definition of entropy?    -   In 5000 words by Fermi, what is the definition of entropy?    -   What is the definition of entropy, in 5000 words by Fermi?    -   What is the definition, in 5000 words by Fermi, of entropy?

Because it is easier for people to keep track of extra information whenit is at the beginning or end of a sentence, we shall ignore the versionwhere a person can insert information in between, though we note that itis often a natural alternative. We will say that a restrictivedefinition of a more specific question means that a question has theexact same information as a first question plus more informationappended at the beginning or end of the first question.

This restrictive definition has advantages because it reduces ambiguity.For example, users can make a “ladder” like the one above that ordersquestions by their specificity. On the other hand, we lose some of thebenefits of natural language.

A Loose Definition of “More Specific”

We would like a more natural definition of more specific. Sorry. Thoughothers may have better ideas, about the best we can do here is thedefinition above that, to repeat, Qn must fit the description of Q andinclude different descriptive material. That is a very subjectivedefinition.

To judge whether Qn is more specific than Q, the most important test isto recall the purpose of a more specific question—to better describe ananswer relative to the description in another question—and see if Qnfulfills that purpose.

Another test is to see whether a question is more specific than anotheris to check if an answer to the more specific question will always be ananswer to the less specific question. As discussed above,

-   -   an answer to Qn is always an answer to Q but,    -   an answer to Q is not necessarily an answer Qn.        For example, the answer to What's IBM's phone number in Armonk?        will also answer What's IBM's phone number?. But the answer to        What's IBM's phone number? will not necessarily answer What's        IBM's phone number in Armonk?. The reason is that the more        specific question fits all the conditions of the less specific        question but the less specific question does not include all the        conditions of the more specific question. Of course, this test        is still subjective.

Below are examples of more specific questions posed in an unrestrictedmanner.

More Illustrations

-   How can you reach IBM    -   What's IBM's phone number?    -   What's IBM's Internet address    -   Can you reach IBM's manager's by flying a blimp over their        headquarters?-   Who were the main actors in Casablanca?    -   What was the full cast of Casablanca?-   What time do the buses to New York leave today?    -   When do the afternoon buses to New York leave today?        -   When do the buses to New York leave after 3:00 p.m. today?-   What is an example of furniture?    -   What is an example of Louis XIV style furniture?    -   What is an example of a chair?-   What is the poverty rate in Washington, D.C.?    -   According to the Brookings Institution, how many people in        Washington D.C. are below the poverty line?    -   What percentage of households in Washingtonian D.C. are on        welfare?    -   What does the census say about the poverty rate in Washington,        D.C.?-   “Oma”?    -   What is the definition of “oma”?        -   Does “oma” mean some kind of cancer?        -   What is a hybridoma?-   What does an arterial plaque look like?    -   Arterial plaque in a ten minute video by NIH?    -   An illustrated guide to arterial plaques?    -   Artierial plaques according to drawings by Harvey?

Until someone fully understands how ideas work we probably will have noprecise definition of more specific. Meanwhile, in a given AC thestandards can vary and can be judged by humans. The examples above showthere is much room for controversy as to whether a question is morespecific than another. Nevertheless, the benefits of using naturallanguage and letting people use their common sense can outweigh thecosts in confusion.

Both the restrictive and unrestrictive definitions can be implemented inAC.

Now we describe a method for implementing more specific questions in AC.We discuss how AC enables people to build networks of linked questions,using more specific questions, and how AC enables users to move aroundin those networks to get and supply answers.

22.1 Building and Moving Around in Question and Answer Nets

In the system described in CIP 1, questions are stored, and answers arestored to correspond directly to those questions. This section, whichhas four parts, describes how the system stores a new type of questionthat we have called a More Specific Question (MS-Q) and describes howpeople use this type of question. In part 1 we again define MS-Q's, thistime giving rules about how they are stored in the system. In part 2 wedescribe new procedures that the system requires for enabling people touse MS-Q's. In part 3 we illustrate key steps of these procedures. Andin part 4 we give examples of Rex's and Sue's using MS-Q's.

Part 1: Rules Defining How MS-Q's Are Stored

1. An MS-Q is a Question.

This means that an MS-Q is like any other question in that users canenter it, store it, find it, and store an answer to correspond to it.

2. An Ms-Q is a Question that is Stored to Correspond Directly toAnother Question.

This means that an MS-Q is linked directly to another question, which wewill call a Less Specific Question (LS-Q). By “linked directly” we meanthat an MS-Q is stored such that when a user enters a linked LS-Q, theMS-Q can be accessed by default or in response to a command. Andfurther, a user can jump from one linked question to another. Ratherthan say that an MS-Q is a special type of question, we can just as wellsay that the link created between two questions is special.

3. Any Question, Including an Ms-Q, Can Have an Ms-Q Linked to it.

This means that a question can have an MS-Q linked to it and that MS-Qcan have an MS-Q linked to it and so on and so on.

4. There is no Limit to How Many MS-Q's Can be Linked to a Question.

(Of course, a system designer could set a limit.)

5. Users Decide Whether the Link Between an Ms-Q and an Ls-Q is Validand Users Can Nullify an Invalid Link.

This means that users, not the system, judge whether an MS-Q is reallymore specific than a question it is linked to (a partial exception,discussed below, is the case of Restricted MS-Q's). Further, the systemcan enable users to take action to nullify a link they consider invalid.

Restricted MS-Q's

As discussed, MS-Q's can be divided into two types, restricted andunrestricted.

2.1 A Restricted MS-Q Includes the Exact Same Information as the LS-Q itis Linked to and Includes Extra Information as well.

This means that the system can in certain cases recognize whether aRestricted MS-Q is valid or not because the system can recognize amismatch between the LS-Q and MS-Q. However, a system can eliminate thispossibility by enabling users to create an MS-Q just by entering theinformation that is to be added to the LS-Q. The system can also enablea user to choose whether the extra information is added to the beginningor end of the LS-Q.

Linking Further Explained

Linking is a familiar term for the process of connecting two records inmemory so that they can be accessed from one another. In AC the recordswe are concerned with are questions, not just the question strings butall the information that is collected to correspond to those strings—thequestion record of Book I.

When we say a first and second record are linked directly we meanseveral things:

-   a. The link is named to describe the semantic relationship between    the two question strings. When two question are linked, each    question is named relative to the other.-   b. While a user is at a first record the system can display at least    the question string of the second record. The system may display    this second string by default or in response to a command. If by    command, the command would correspond to the name of the link, for    example, “Get MS-Q's.” From the first record, the user may be able    to access more, or even all, of the information in the second    record, depending on the rules of the particular system.-   c. When a user is at a first record, the system can access all    information at the second record and can make decisions based on    that information. For example, if many MS-Q's are linked to a    question, the system could determine which ones to show based on the    information held in each.-   d. The system enables a user to travel from the first record to the    second.-   e. The system can register when a user travels from one record to    the other. This information can be kept in each record and/or kept    in a third record created to store information about movement on the    link.-   f. From a given record, the system can access an indirectly linked    record and can enable users to do so as well.    How Answers Correspond to Questions

The system also requires rules that define how many answers cancorrespond to a question. There is no hard and fast rule; it is a designdecision. For simplicity's sake, we adopt the rule below.

6. Only One Answer Can Correspond Directly to a Question.

This means that only one answer can correspond to a question that has nolinked MS-Q's. If a question has linked MS-Q's these might have theirown direct answers. If so, these answers correspond indirectly to theoriginal question, the LS-Q. Hence this rule differentiates between adirect answer and an indirect answer. A question can have one direct andmultiple indirect answers. Further, it can have only indirect answers.

(To repeat: this rule is adopted for simplicity in the followingdiscussion. As discussed in Book I, there are many rules that can beused for entering multiple direct answers to a question.)

Finally, we recall a rule from CIP 1.

7. An Answer Can Correspond Directly to Multiple Questions.

The system described in CIP 1 allowed a single answer to answer multiplequestions. This rule can be very useful where MS-Q's are concerned.

Part 2. Procedures and Functions for MS-Q's

To implement the rules above the system needs new procedures andfunctions.

Follow the Signs

Before getting into a lot of details about these procedures, let us getsome perspective and see basically what is being added to the systemdescribed in CIP 1. Basically, functions are added that enable users tolink questions, to identify which of two linked questions is morespecific, and to jump from one linked question to another.

These additions mean that a question, while still being a sign thattells about an answer, can also be a sign that tells about otherquestions. Further, these additions mean that users can find an answerby following the signs. In the system of CIP 1, a person would find ananswer by entering the corresponding question. If the result wasunsatisfactory, the user would have to enter another question. In thenew system, a user can zip from sign to sign. What's more, the user canadd new signs and link them to existing ones, letting other users followhis path.

Returning to the bazaar, let's say that the products are not answers butclothes. And let us say that a buyer asks for pants and that a signexists for pants. This sign might point to other more specific signsabout pants, for example, for khakis, jeans, cords, and others. Nowlet's say a buyer selects the sign for khaki's. He would then zip tothis sign where he might find khaki pants but he also might finddirections to more specific signs, for example, for pleated khaki's,loose-fit, 100% cotton, pre-washed, and others. Again he might pick oneof these and then find directions there to more specific signs such asthose describing certain sizes. Eventually he might find a sign thatdescribed the pair of pants that he wanted. It probably would not be forthe exact pair of pants he wanted, but it could be close enough.

At that point he could request the pants and hope that they were there.(The sign could tell him if they were there and the price as well, andthe estimated reward for supplying the pants.) On the other hand hemight not find a sign for the pair of pants he wanted, for example nosign might describe his size. And so he could ask for a certain type ofpants in his size and the robots of the bazaar would set up a sign forthose pants, and could link it to the sign he is at.

Now let's say a producer and wants to supply khaki pants. And say shefinds that the sign saying “khaki pants” already has pants in stock, butnot the ones she has in mind. The pants there might be khakis withpleats while she might want to supply khakis without pleats. And so shecould: 1) have a sign set up saying “khaki pants without pleats,” 2)supply the khakis without pleats and, 3) link the new sign to the signsaying “khaki pants.”

To illustrate the situation with answers rather than clothes, take thecase of someone looking for a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. A signfor such a recipe might direct a person to more specific signs listingtoll-house, and a variety of other recipes. A person picking“toll-house” might then find directions to more specific signs such asthose for toll-house cookies made with walnuts, or margarine, orturbinado sugar, and so on. Eventually, the person might find the recipehe wanted.

Thus the bazaar is transformed into land of linked signs (or signomatsas we also call them). A question gains an extra role, that of anintersection that can have any number of paths leading in and out. Theintersection has a signomat in the middle and the signomat now has alarge telescreen, like an airport telescreen, telling people thedestinations they can zip to. So a person can stop at the intersectionand buy something or just get directions to another signomat.

Now back to the procedures that the system includes to make this schemework.

How the Description Below Adds to the Description of CIP 1

In CIP 1 we described how a user could ask a question in Request Modeand possibly get an answer. Further we showed how the system includedfunctions for registering demand and outputting a POE. We also showedhow a user could supply an answer in Supply Mode. And we describedvarious other possible steps and functions such as those for pricetesting and quality control.

Now we are adding a whole new capability to the system but let us stressthat the basic functions remain. The central idea is of a question wheredemand is collected and where users can get an answer and a POE, andwhere users can supply an answer as well. The functions for making thesethings possible, such as the pay-off formula, all remain, though theymay be modified. Rather than repeat what has been said about thesefunctions, we will describe mainly the things that are added.

We will combine the old procedures with the new ones and call them bothoptions because they correspond to the options that the new systempresents to users. These options can be in menu form. When a userchooses an option, further choices may be possible and can be presentedin a sub-menu.

Each option can have many variations. For example, the option of GettingMS-Q's can display MS-Q's by default or in response to a command. Thisoption can also allow MS-Q's to be shown according to certain searchparameters. These are just a couple examples. The point is that numerousvariations are possible and we only have time to delve into certainones. We will explain the basic steps.

One thing that is different from CIP 1 is that in describing the optionswe do not differentiate between Request and Supply modes. That isbecause the point of the new procedures is to enable users to buildnetworks of questions and answers, and to move around in those networks.Users do these things in both the roles of Rex and Sue, and therefore,Rex's and Sue's usually use these procedures in the same way. Moreover,the system can allow users to switch roles easily. In building thedata-base, and moving through it, the main difference between Rex's andSue's is that the actions of Rex's are registered as demand informationwhile those of Sue's are not. (Of course, Rex's usually do moresearching than Sue's and Sue's enter answers.) In the discussions then,we assume a user has declared which role he is in and that he can switchat any time.

(As for Check Mode, we do not go into it but note that a user in thismode would also use the same procedures for moving around thedata-base.)

As mentioned previously, two topics have their own sections. These arethe topics of the Pay-off Estimate (registering and calculating demand)and of Searching. Both topics involve functions that are part of themain menu options but these functions are put in their own sections forthe sake of clarity. The key thing first is to describe how the systemallows questions to be linked to each other. Linked questions allowusers more choices of answers. It is these choices that can then makeregistering demand and searching more complex. So we first explain howthe choices are created then we describe functions for dealing withthose choices.

Being At a Question

With the new system it is natural to think of a user being “at” aquestion because he can now move from one question to another. Being“at” a question was never brought up in CIP 1 because there was no need;a person who entered a question was then “at” the question. While there,the user could transact business—make an offer, receive an answer, see apay-off estimate, supply an answer, and so on. In the system of CIP's 2,3 and 4 the meaning is the same as, except that once at a question auser can do more things. When a user arrives at a question, especiallyone that is already in the system, a POE might be shown along with aquestion automatically, even though a user does not request an answer tothe question.

(As discussed in Book I, the user can get to a question by entering it,by confirming a best match, or by moving to it from another question. Wecall the question that the user is at the current question.)

Options

As seen in FIG. 7, once a user is at a question, the system presents himwith a list of options. The system lets the user:

-   a. Get an answer 2510,-   b. Get MS-Q's 2511,-   c. Get other questions 2512,-   d. Enter an MS-Q 2513,-   e. Enter an answer 2514,-   f. Enter a new question-label 2515,-   g. Link the current question to an existing question 2516,-   h. Zip to another question 2517,-   i. Rephrase the last entered question 2518,-   j. Enter a new question 2519,-   k. Stop 2520.

We now describe these options one at a time but not in the order above.

(Keep in mind that many of these options have been better explained, andhave been expanded, in Book I. See preface to Book II as well for whythis is so.)

(Note: We below give procedures for entering, finding and zipping toMS-Q's. The same procedures apply to LS-Q's as well, of course, in thesense that a user can enter, find and zip to an LS-Q.)

Entering a Question

Before a user is at any question, he must use the procedure for enteringa question. Once he gets to a question he can also use this procedure toget to another question.

When he enters a question the system searches for an exact match. Ifthere is no exact match, the system stores the question and creates ademand record for it. The system then looks for a best match. If thereis no best match the system alerts the user that there is no best match.If the user likes, he can rephrase the question. If there is a bestmatch or matches the user can select a match. If he does, the selectedquestion becomes the current question.

The user may be satisfied with a best match candidate, but he may stillprefer his original question. Further, he may want to link his originalquestion to the best match question. Thus even though the user chooses abest match, the system stores the original question, and any rephrasingsthe user enters.

In the bazaar the entering a question procedure is equivalent to tellingthe cab driver which signomat to go to. If no such signomat is alreadyin the bazaar, the robots of the bazaar construct the one that the riderhas described. After taking him to it, the cab takes him to on a tour tosee one or more similar sounding signomats. If the rider is satisfiedwith one of these he can tell the driver to stop. If he is notsatisfied, the cab returns him to the new signomat the system hasconstructed for him.

Rephrase the Question

When a user, especially Rex, enters a new question, he may be starting anew search or he may be rephrasing a previous question. The system mayenable the user to distinguish between starting afresh and rephrasing aquestion. If so, the system includes a command for identifying the nextquestion entered as a rephrasing of the last question entered.

In the bazaar this is analogous to a rider giving the driver slightlydifferent directions, hoping to get to a signomat that already exists inthe bazaar.

Zipping to Another Question

When a user is at a question, the system can enable him to move to (zipto) a linked question, or to any other question the system shows onscreen or otherwise makes available to him. The system includes a selectcommand so the user can designate which question he wants to move to.The command may consist of clicking on a question that is shown onscreen. As is pictured in FIG. 8 to move to a question, a user wouldclick on the zip tool 2621 and then click on a question on screen. Theselected question would then become the current question and theinformation associated with that question would then also appear onscreen.

In the bazaar this option is equivalent to a rider telling the driver togo to another signomat that user has seen either at the current signomator during his trip.

Getting MS-Q's

When a user is at a question, the system enables him to see the directlylinked MS-Q's. The system may show these automatically or in response toa command. The system can also display the number of MS-Q's that aredirectly linked to the current question. Once the system displays theMS-Q's, the user can select any one of them to zip to. The process canbe continued in the direction of greater specificity, unless there areno MS-Q's linked to the question that the user is at.

The system can also enable the user to see more than one level ofMS-Q's. This type of viewing is especially feasible when the MS-Q's areRestricted MS-Q's. And the system can tell the user the maximum depthand average depth of the MS-Q tree is that the user is on (the actualdepth depends on the route a user takes).

As shown in FIG. 11, the system can enable the user to select 2910 onlythe Restricted MS-Q's. When a Restricted MS-Q is shown, the system mayoutput only the extra information the MS-Q contains over the currentquestion.

The system must include defaults to determine the order in which MS-Q'sare shown when there are too many MS-Q's output at once. In this case,the system can enable the user to scroll through the MS-Q's. Also, thesystem can enable the user to determine which MS-Q's to see according tovarious criteria.

In the bazaar, Getting MS-Q's is like viewing the telescreen that showssignomats that are linked to the signomat the rider is at. Thetelescreen may show these automatically or the rider may have to press abutton to see them.

Getting Other Questions

When a user is at a question the system can enable him to see and moveto more than just the directly linked MS-Q's. For example, the systemcan also show linked LS-Q's. This feature is important for it allows theuser to backtrack, instead of just going in the direction of greaterspecificity.

The system can also enable the user to see any question the user haspreviously entered or been at. In this case, the system keeps a list ofthe questions that the user has been at and can enable the user to callup this list and select a question from it. The most important of theseis the last question the user was at because returning to this questionis often the most natural type of backtracking. The system need not showthis previous question but can just include a command for selecting it.

The system may include an option whereby the user may ask to seequestions that are good matches for the current question but that arenot directly linked to that question. The reason for this feature is toenable the user to see questions in the data-base that may be related tothe current question but that have not been linked together. Thisfeature enables a user to zip to and possibly link questions that theuser might not otherwise find out about.

In the bazaar, a signomat's telescreen would be able to display the lessspecific signomats linked to the signomat. A rider could then select oneof these to go to. Also, the cab meter could keep a list of all thesignomats a rider has gone to in a certain trip and can let the riderpick a signomat on the list to return to.

Entering an MS-Q and Linking it to a Question

When a user is at a question, the system enables him to enter an MS-Q.The system includes a link command (as shown in FIG. 8, “Enter MS-Q”2622). The user selects the command, which signifies that the currentquestion is to be an LS-Q, relative to a new question to be entered. Theuser then enters a new question and the system stores it as an MS-Q tocorrespond directly to the LS-Q. The user can repeat this process,linking multiple MS-Q's to the question he is at.

As shown in FIG. 29 a, if the system offers the option of entering bothRestricted and Unrestricted MS-Q's then the system can enable the userto select 2911 which type of MS-Q the user wants to enter. This choicecould be presented as part of a sub-menu. As mentioned, with RestrictedMS-Q's the system can enable users to enter an MS-Q by only enteringinformation to be added to the LS-Q.

Now it may be that the MS-Q has an exact match in the data-base. Thuswhen a user enters an MS-Q the system can look for an exact match. Ifone is found, the system can link it to the current question. The systemcan also look for a best match for the MS-Q, and output best matchcandidates. The user might want to link one of these to the currentquestion as well. The search for a match of the MS-Q can enable the userto find and link questions he might not otherwise have seen.

In the bazaar then, a rider can press a button on the signomat thatsignifies that the next question he enters will be for a more specificsignomat and that the new signomat should be linked to the signomat heis at. Then, when the rider asks for a more specific product, the robotsof the bazaar construct a signomat for it and paint a magnetic path witharrows pointing from the current signomat to the new one.

Entering an Answer

When a user is at a question, the system enables her to enter an answer.Thus the system includes a command for entering an answer (the systemmay enable Rex to become Sue just by entering this “Enter Answer”command). After the user enters the command, and if the question has nodirect answer, Sue enters the answer and the system stores it is as thedirect answer.

If the question already has a direct answer, the system tells Sue shecan only enter an indirect answer (unless she has is correcting anexisting answer) and enables her to do so. Sue can enter an indirectanswer by entering an MS-Q and supplying a direct answer to the MS-Q.She can enter as many indirect answers as he likes.

The system can enable the user to designate whether she is entering adirect or indirect answer. She can enter both a direct and indirectanswers, if the current question has no direct answer, or she can enteronly indirect answers, if she wants.

To make it easier to enter an indirect answer, the system can enable Sueto use a sub-menu procedure when entering an MS-Q and an answer to theMS-Q, rather than making Sue switch to main menu option for entering anMS-Q. So the Entering an Answer procedure can also include steps forentering MS-Q's.

As discussed earlier, a question is a label that identifies whatinformation a corresponding answer will have. It is often helpful tolabel an answer in multiple ways. Multiple labels can help people findan answer, just as listing a business under different headings in thephone book can help people find the business. The ability to name ananswer in various ways is especially important when dealing with naturallanguage requests where people call the same thing by many differentnames. For Sue's, multiple labels are like having multipleadvertisements for a single answer. So the system can enable users toenter multiple MS-Q's for a single answer (and the system can includeshort cuts so that a user does not have to re-enter the same answer eachtime he enters a new label for it).

In the bazaar, a rider with a product to supply—call it a recipe—canpress a button on the appropriate signomat and the signomat will thenstore the product to dispense to buyers. But, if a product is already inthe signomat, then the producer must have a new signomat constructed.She can link this new machine to the original signomat she wanted tosupply the product to. And she can have numerous machines set up withdifferent signs for the same product. And she can have all thesemachines all linked to the original signomat.

Linking Existing Questions to Each Other

The system can include a linking tool that enables users to link twoquestions that are already stored in the system. One way for such a toolto work is for a user to select (click on) the tool and then select aquestion on screen. The system then creates a link between the currentquestion and the selected question such that the selected question is anMS-Q of the current question.

There are many other ways for selecting two questions to be linked andfor designating the relationship between the two. In particular, alinking tool can be selected and then two questions on screen can beselected. In this case, the system would create a link between the twoquestions with the first question selected being the LS-Q and the secondthe MS-Q (or vice versa).

In the bazaar, the rider may press a linking button on the signomattelescreen and then select a signomat on the telescreen. The selectedsignomat then becomes linked to the signomat the rider is at.

Entering a New Label for an Answer

Before explaining this procedure, a quick digression is in order toexplain the need for the procedure. Let us look at some possibilitieswhere questions, MS-Q's and answers are concerned.

A question can have no answer, in which case there is no problem. Aquestion can have one direct answer and no MS-Q's, in which case thereis no problem. A question can have no direct answer and have MS-Q's thathave direct answers. Again there is no problem if the MS-Q's just havedirect answers.

A question can have a direct answer and an MS-Q that has a directanswer. Now we may have an problem. Why? Because when a person is at thequestion and wants an answer, how is he to differentiate between thedirect and indirect answer? The question (the LS-Q) describes the directanswer but it also describes the indirect answer. As shown in FIG. 9,say the LS-Q 2730 with the direct answer 2731 is:

-   What is the recipe for Toll-House cookies?    And let's say the MS-Q 2732 with the direct answer 2733 is:-   What is the recipe for Toll-House cookies with nuts?

There is no way to differentiate between the LS-Q's direct answer andindirect answer. Both are valid answers to the LS-Q. (The direct answerfor both questions may even be the same; it may be the same recipe withtwo different labels.)

The problem gets worse when many MS-Q's are linked to a question thathas a direct answer. Ideally then, the direct answer would be relabelledwith an MS-Q so that the answer could be differentiated from theindirect answers.

(It is also possible to do nothing, to allow the direct answer to bedescribed only by the LS-Q even though that question may have manyMS-Q's with direct answers. This situation is feasible depending on therules for outputting answers. These rules, for example, can includeextra search parameters so that the direct answer can be differentiatedby information other than the question-label.)

If a direct answer is to be relabelled, four people can do therelabelling:

-   -   1. The original Sue can do it, but he may not be easy to alert        to the need and he may not be interested in doing it.    -   2. The new Sue who puts an MS-Q on the question and thus “crowds        out” the direct answer can do it. But this person has a conflict        of interest and might not give an accurate label.    -   3. A system judge can do it, but judges cannot keep up with the        need.    -   4. Rex can do it. He might see a direct answer and feel it needs        a more accurate label. This type of labeling can help other        Rex's find an answer and it can also be an excellent method of        quality control. For example, a question may be,    -   How far is it to Chicago from Washington, D.C.?        and someone may have supplied the following answer,    -   Less than 1,000,000 miles.        Now Rex receiving this answer might relabel the answer, for        example,    -   How far is it to Chicago from Washington, D.C. to within        1,000,000 miles?

The rules as to who can do the relabelling can be variable depending onthe system. In any case, it can be useful for the system to include aprocedure for relabelling an answer. Thus the system can include acommand for selecting a direct answer, for example by selecting its“direct” question, and then entering an MS-Q to relabel (or add an extralabel to) the direct answer. As shown in FIG. 9 a, this MS-Q 2740 wouldbe linked to the original question and would correspond to the originalquestion's direct answer 2741.

In the bazaar, this relabelling is like having the system construct anew, more descriptive singomat for a product that is already in asignomat.

Getting an Answer

When a user is at a question, the system can enable him to get ananswer, whether direct or indirect, by entering a command. (The systemmay enable Sue to become Rex just by entering this “Get Answer”command). We should note that in some cases the system may output theanswer without a command.

Now, in the system of CIP 1, a person (a Rex that is) who entered aquestion and was therefore “at” the question was presumed to want thecorresponding answer. Price tests could be done there to gather moreinformation about what Rex was willing to pay, and it might turn outthat Rex might not get the answer even if it was there. But the point isthat it was presumed that Rex wanted the answer and so arriving at aquestion was registered as demand information.

In the new system, arriving at a question does not necessarily mean thata person wants a corresponding answer, direct or indirect. The personcan just be passing through, looking for a good question. So the arrivalis not necessarily registered as demand information. Though it dependson the particular system's rules and on the particular answer, a usermay have to explicitly express interest in paying for an answer, forinstance by entering a Get Answer command, in order for the system toregister the demand information, and for the system to output an answer.Of course, price testing could then be done, and other demandinformation gathered.

Getting an Answer can be the most complicated procedure of the ones wehave discussed. That's because the point of implementing MS-Q's is togive users more choices for getting answers. The available answers maybe direct and indirect and there may be many available. Or there may beunanswered but linked questions. As mentioned, these expanded choicesraise several design issues. For example, when there are multiplepossible answers, direct and indirect:

-   a. which one is the system to output?,-   b. how is demand to be registered when a user may express interest    in more than one answer; what should the POE be based on?,-   c. what if the user is dissatisfied with an answer because didn't    think the question described it well and he wants to look at another    answer?

Our solution here is to skip these type issues for now and discuss themin sections 2 and 3. Here we will take the simplest case where thequestion has a direct answer and no MS-Q's. As in CIP 1, the user thenasks for the answer, demand information is registered and a POE isoutputted, and if the answer is in, the answer is outputted and Rex ischarged and Sue credited. Now, as discussed in CIP 1, there are manyways to accomplish these things. For example, price tests can be done.We will not go over these issues again.

We do note though that in a system using natural language, rules forcharging for answers are likely to be different than a system withhighly constrained meanings. A person is more likely to be disappointedwith an answer that corresponds to a natural language question than withone that corresponds to a highly constrained query. And so a system thathandles natural language might have special rules for enabling users tosee more than one answer but only pay for one. These rules are highlyvariable and are feasible in the system of CIP 1 as well. (If the systemcharges a flat per hour fee for searching the data-base, this issue isnot as relevant.)

We also note though that Sue's as well as Rex's can be interested inwhether an answer is in the system. Sue might want to know so she cansee if a question needs answering or see if someone else has alreadyentered his answer. Two problems arise. One, Sue may be forced to pay tosee an answer. Two, Sue might steal an answer and store it under anotherlabel (MS-Q). We do not go into these issues here, only note that thesystem requires rules for dealing with them. These issues are not newfrom CIP 1 but they become more pronounced where multiple answers to anatural language question are concerned.

Back in the bazaar, the signomat may or may not have the product—again,call it a recipe—that the rider (a buyer) is looking for. If the rideris interested in the recipe, he usually presses a button. If the recipeis there, and if the rider knows the price in advance, the recipe isdispensed. Another possibility is that the signomat posts a price, andthe buyer can then choose to buy or not. Or the signomat can post amessage saying, “Well, I might have the recipe and I might not, what areyou willing to pay for it?,” and let the buyer make an offer. If therecipe is there it is dispensed, if the buyer's offer is high enough. Inany case, the signomat registers the details of any buyer offer anddisplays a POE for the recipe.

Quality Control Functions for MS-Q's

The system can include functions for quality control that enable usersto nullify links. The system can allow users to take several actions.Two mains ones are:

-   1. ask the system judge to invalidate a link,-   2. post a complaint about a link for other users to see.    So the system can include means for a user to select an MS-Q and    post a complaint marker for others to see. Further the system may    reward users who properly point out invalid links and may penalize    those who create such links.

The system can be self-regulating though without these measures becausean invalid link may merely be ignored by users. An ignored link will notbenefit its creator, and further, the system may have rules that causean unused link to vanish.

In the bazaar, this type of quality control is like a rider posting acomplaint on the telescreen about a linked signomat and possibly askinga judge to erase the link.

Part 3. Sequence of Operation

We do not show steps for all the options in Part 2 above, just the keysteps for the critical options for creating question and answer nets. Weare repeating things that were said in Part 2, but here give flowdiagrams. In the sequence below, selected question corresponds tocurrent question in the discussion above. Below we assume a user hasalready arrived at a question and now selects an option. As shown inFIGS. 10, 10 a, and 10 b:

New Question

If the user selects “New Question” 2850 he enters a question string andthe system:

-   -   a. Inputs 2851 the question,    -   b. Checks 2852 for an exact match,        -   b1. If an exact match is found, the question is the selected            question 2853,        -   b2. If no exact match is found, the system stores 2854 the            question, creates 2854 a demand record for it, and checks            2855 for a best match,            -   b2a. If no best match is found, the question is the                selected question 2856,            -   b2b. If a best match is found, the system outputs 2857                the match(es) and asks the user to confirm (select one)                2588,                -   b2b1. If the user selects a best match question, it                    is the selected question 2859,                -   b2b2. If the user selects none of the matches, the                    inputted question is the selected question 2856,    -   c. Waits for an option to be selected.        Rephrase

If the user selects “Rephrase” 2860 the system registers 2861 that thenext question entered is a rephrasing of the previous question entered.When the user enters a question, the system continues with the proceduredescribed just above for New Question.

Stop

If the user selects “Stop” 2862 the system exits.

Get Answer

If the user selects “Get Answer” 2870 the system:

-   -   a. Registers 2871 demand information (the request, the time of        the request, the price offered, and other information depending        on the particular system),    -   b. Checks 2872 if an answer is in the data-base,        -   b1. If no, outputs 2873 a POE and the message “answer not            found”,        -   b2. If yes, outputs 2874 the answer, and a POE, and            registers 2874 a charge to Rex and a credit to Sue,    -   c. Waits for an option to be selected.        Get MS-Q's

If the user selects “Get MS-Q's” 275 the system:

-   -   a. Checks 2876 if any MS-Q's are directly linked to the selected        question,        -   a1. If no, outputs 2877 a message that no MS-Q's are found,        -   a2. If yes, outputs 2878 the MS-Q's,    -   b. Waits for an option to be selected.        Zip To

If the user selects “Zip To” 2879 the system:

-   -   a. Checks 2880 if any MS-Q's are currently outputted,        -   a1. If no, the system remains at the menu,        -   a2. If yes, the user selects one of the MS-Q's that has been            outputted and the system inputs 2881 the selection, and            makes 2882 the selected MS-Q the selected question,    -   b. Waits for an option to be selected.        Enter MS-Q

If the user selects “Enter MS-Q” 2883 the user enters a question and thesystem:

-   -   a. Inputs 2884 the question,    -   b. Stores 2885 the question to correspond directly to the        selected question as an MS-Q of the selected question,    -   c. Creates 2886 a demand record for the new question,    -   d. Waits for an option to be selected.        Enter Answer

If the user selects “Enter Answer” 2887 the system:

-   -   a. Checks 2888 if a direct answer is in the data-base,        -   a1. If no, the system asks 2889 the user if he wants to            enter a direct answer,            -   a2a. If the user selects yes, he enters an answer,                -   a2a1. The system inputs 2890 the answer,                -   a2a2. Stores 2891 it as the direct answer to the                    selected question and registers 2892 the user's                    identification data in order to credit royalties,        -   a2. If yes, outputs 2893 a message telling Sue that a direct            answer is already in the data-base,    -   b. Asks 2894 the user if he wants to enter an indirect answer,        -   b1. If the user selects no, the system waits for an option            to be selected,        -   b2. If the user selects yes, he enters a question,            -   b2a. The system inputs 2895 the question,            -   b2b. Stores 2896 the new question as an MS-Q of the                selected question, and sets 2896 the MS-Q as the Latest                MS-Q,            -   b2c. Checks 2897 if the user has already entered an                answer to the selected question or to an MS-Q of the                selected question,                -   b2c1. If no, the user enters an answer and the                    system inputs 2898 it and stores it as the direct                    answer to the Latest MS-Q,                -   b2c2. If yes, the system asks 2899 the user if he                    wants the last answer he entered to also answer the                    Latest MS-Q,                -    b2c2a. If the user selects yes, the system stores                    3800 that answer as the direct answer of the Latest                    MS-Q,                -    b2c2b. If the user selects no, he enters an answer                    and the system inputs 2898 it and stores 3801 it as                    the direct answer to the Latest MS-Q,                -    b2c2c. Registers 2892 the user's identification                    data in order to credit royalties, and goes to step                    b.

Part 4. Illustrations: Basic Situations

Now we show some illustrations of how users can build question andanswer networks (nets). Having arrived at a question, a user can facethree basic situations with regard to direct answers.

-   1. The question is completely new; and so has no direct answer.-   2. The question has been entered before but has no direct answer.-   3. The question has a direct answer.

(Note: we do not show the situation where a question has no directanswer but does have an indirect answer. In this case the MS-Q is aquestion that has a direct answer and so this case does not add much tothe discussion.)

What the System Lets Rex's Do

The Question is Completely New

When Rex enters a question that no one has entered before, the systemstores it. The question the current question and so Rex can enter anMS-Q. We do not picture the user adding an MS-Q, we only picture one newquestion, in FIG. 12, and imagine that the question is, What's IBM'sphone number? 3020.

The Question has Been Entered Before but has No Direct Answer

When Rex arrives at a question that is already in the system but thathas no direct answer, he can enter an MS-Q to that question. In FIG. 12a, we imagine that the user has initially entered, What's IBM's number?3021, and that the system has shown him a best match of What's IBM'sphone number? 3022, which he finds satisfactory. He then adds twoMS-Q's, for tech support? 3023 and What's a 1-800 number for IBM? 3024.The first MS-Q is restricted and the second is unrestricted.

The Question has a Direct Answer

When Rex arrives at a question that has a direct answer, he can get ananswer and/or add an MS-Q. We do not picture these situations.

What the System Lets Suppliers Do

The Question is Completely New

When Sue enters a question that nobody else has entered, the systemstores it and Sue can then enter a direct answer. She can also enter andMS-Q and an answer to that. We do not picture these situations. (Sue mayenter a new question and answer because she feels that people will askthe question in the future, even though no one has asked it in the past.For example, IBM might enter, A Directory of IBM Toll Free numbers inthe U.S?, and then enter an answer to their own question.)

The Question has Been Entered Before but has No Direct Answer

When Sue arrives at a question that has no direct answer, she can:

-   a) supply a direct answer,-   b) supply an MS-Q and a direct answer to the MS-Q or,-   c) do both of the above.    Doing both is shown in FIG. 12 b. Sue selects the original question,    What's IBM's phone number? 3025 and enters a direct answer,    800-333-4444 3026. She then enters one MS-Q, What's IBM's toll-free    number for inkjet tech support? 3027, and then enters the same    answer. She then selects another existing MS-Q, What's IBM's phone    number for tech support? 3028 and adds, for inkjets 3029 to this,    thus creating another MS-Q. She enters the same answer again.    Finally, she selects another existing MS-Q, What's a 1-800 number    for IBM? 3030, and enters the same answer.    The Question has a Direct Answer

When Sue selects a question that already has a direct answer she canthen add an MS-Q and a direct answer to that MS-Q. In FIG. 12 c, Sueselects the question, What's a 1-800 number for IBM? 3040, and then addsone MS-Q to it, for laptop product information 3041, and then enters ananswer 3042 to that new MS-Q. She then enters another MS-Q, for laptopcomplaints and suggestions 3043, and an answer 3044 for that. Finally,she adds a third MS-Q, for laptop tech support 3045, and an answer 3046to that.

Using the Linking Tool

As mentioned, the system can provide a linking tool that enables a userto link any two questions that appear on screen. In FIG. 12 d, we showhow Rex might link a new question with best match candidates.

The user enters,

-   -   What's IBM's 1-800 number for tech support? 3050        This is the current question. Now we assume the system presents        the user with four best match candidates:    -   What's IBM's toll-free number, for inkjet tech support? 3051    -   What a 1-800 number for IBM, for laptop tech support? 3052    -   What's IBM's phone number for tech support? 3053    -   What's a 1-800 number for IBM? 3054

In FIG. 12 d, the dashed lines 3055 represent possible links between thecurrent question and the match candidates. We assume the linking toolworks such that the user first selects the tool and then selects twoquestions, the first being designated the LS-Q and the second the MS-Q.In our example, we imagine that the user selects the current question3050 and then selects the first match 3051 above. The system creates alink between the two questions with the match candidate being the MS-Q.The user repeats the process with the second match candidate 3052. Nowwe assume that the user selects the third candidate 3053 but selectsthis question before selecting the current question 3050. Thus thecurrent question becomes an MS-Q relative to the third match candidate.The user repeats the process with the fourth match candidate 3054. Thusfour links have been created, two where the current question is an LS-Qand two where the current question is an MS-Q.

Chapter 22 Linking Questions Semantically (A Solution to the EndlessQuestions Problem)

Introduction

Let us now take up the endless questions problem again. This problem wasdiscussed in chapters 4 and 5 and again in the beginning of chapter 20.Here we delve into the problem further (and repeat many points madepreviously) in order to give a better explanation for the solution thatis presented. This discussion does not nullify what was previously said.

To see the problem, we first look at Rex's goal of finding an answer,Sue's goal of supplying an answer, and AC's goal of enabling Rex and Sueto accomplish these goals. These are search goals. For now, we do notconsider AC's economic goal of creating a sales forecast (or forecasts)for an answer. The search goals alone reveal why the reality of endlessquestions is a big problem.

After presenting the problem, we give the gist of a solution. Thesolution can be used independently of AC (in the sense of AC's economicorganization). In other words, the solution is a general one forenabling people to create and search a data-base of natural languagequestions and answers.

Of course, AC is a special data-base in that it is organized around thegoal of making good sales forecasts for answers. The endless questionsreality poses problems for achieving this goal. In section 22.6, we showhow the solution to the search problem can be used to achieve AC'sprimary economic goal as well.

As examples of answers, we will use “a” weather report, “a” photo of arose, and “a” pair of jeans (a physical product).

(Notes on terminology: As before, “entering a question” may meanentering or selecting a question, also called “arriving at a question”(see chapter 5). Context will dictate whether “enter a question” means“enter a new question” or “select an existing question” or either one.Also, when we refer to Sue we may mean an actual Sue, someone who issupplying an answer, or a potential Sue, someone who is consideringsupplying an answer.)

22.1 Goals and Problems

Goals

When Rex enters a question (for instance, What's the weather going to belike today in Miami?) his goal is to find an answer that is in AC or toexpress interest in buying an answer that is not in AC.

When Sue enters a question (for instance, Miami weather report?) hergoal is to supply an answer to the question, and have the answer foundby every Rex who wants it. The question may already be in AC due to aRex, or it may be a question Sue has originated.

AC's goal is to enable Rex and Sue to accomplish their goals.

What Is “An” Answer

As discussed, there is no such thing as an answer or the answer, in thesense of a single answer. So what does Rex want to find and what shouldSue provide?

Let us discuss, once again, what an answer means. An answer does notmean one answer; it means any answer from a set of satisfactory answers.This set is undefinable except as a matter of interpretation by eachperson who has asked a question. A given Rex can say whether aparticular answer—a particular weather report, a particular photo of arose, a particular pair of jeans—is satisfactory or unsatisfactory tohim. But no person can define the set. A particular person can only sayyea or nay to particular examples of answers.

Naturally, different users will have different opinions about whether aparticular answer is satisfactory or unsatisfactory. A Sue and a Rex candisagree about whether an answer fits a question.

From AC's point of view, “an” or “the” answer to a question usuallymeans an answer according to what the average user has in mind—therandom Rex and the random Sue. For example, generally speaking, ACcalculates a POE for an answer that is to be supplied by a random Sue,based on the requests of random Rex's. (We say “generally speaking”because there are ways that AC can customize a POE for a particularanswer and according to particular Rex's.)

“Average user” and “random user” are themselves a little deceptivebecause the users interested in a given answer will not be average orrandom. The idea, though, is that there is usually no single opinionabout what an answer should be. AC cannot, usually, tell who will supplyan answer, and who will judge it. A slew of potential answers and a slewof opinions about those answers is the reality.

In CIP's 2 and 3 we used the terms “same answer,” “an answer,” and, “theanswer” often. Here we also use the terms the “same satisfactory answer”and “a satisfactory answer” because they may get across a little betterthe idea that there is a slew of satisfactory answers for a givenquestion.

Goals Restated

So, a better way of stating Rex's goal is to say that he is looking fora satisfactory answer—a satisfactory weather report, photo of a rose, orpair of jeans. The broad adjective “satisfactory” is used because whatRex wants when he enters a question is fairly broad. His idea of what issatisfactory may change when he finds out what is in AC. He may lowerhis expectations, just as someone who goes to buy a pair of jeans maysettle for a pair that is not as good as he “envisioned” in the firstplace. He may also raise his expectations, seeing a selection of answersthat are better than he “envisioned” when he entered a question. We putenvisioned in quotes because Rex usually doesn't see any particularanswer in advance. Only when he is provided with a particular answer canhe say “unsatisfactory, ” or “satisfactory.”

Satisfactory really refers to a person's response to an answer. Itencompasses many responses (“not what I hoped for but I'll take it fornow,” “partially satisfactory,” “just what I wanted,” “better than Iexpected,” and so on). Perhaps a better way of stating Rex's goal is tosay that he is looking for the most satisfactory answer he can get,given limited time (and usually limited money). He is not necessarilycompletely satisfied by a “satisfactory” answer. He may want a betterone. In other words, Rex's goal is not well defined. For now, as good away as any of briefly stating his goal is to say that he wants asatisfactory answer.

A better way of stating Sue's goal, then, is to say that she is seekingto provide a satisfactory answer to as many Rex's as she can.

(In fact, we should say that Sue is seeking to sell her answer to asmany Rex's as possible, not just provide a satisfactory answer. We areleaving the economic issue of sales until section 22.6 of this chapter.)

AC's goals then are to:

-   1) enable Rex to find a satisfactory answer and-   2) enable Sue to provide a satisfactory answer to as many Rex's as    she can.    Endless Answers Again

Of course, as discussed, the endless answers problem gets in the way. Wemight restate the endless answers problem by saying that there areendless satisfactory answers and endless unsatisfactory answers to anyquestion—e.g., endless unsatisfactory weather reports, photos of roses,and pairs of jeans. The problem is: how can Rex tell Sue what he wantsso that she provides a satisfactory answer?

One basic solution to this problem is the introduction of more specificquestions. We will not repeat our discussion of these.

Endless Questions Reality Restated

And so we come back to the endless questions reality which we said wasthat endless questions could refer to the “same answer”. Now wesubstitute the term “a satisfactory answer” for “the same answer”. Theunderlying reality remains: there are endless questions that refer to asatisfactory answer (endless ways to ask for a satisfactory weatherreport, photo of a rose, pair of jeans, and so on).

Why the Endless Questions Reality is a Problem for Rex and Sue

Recall, Rex's goal is to find or express interest in a satisfactoryanswer, but how? Which question should he enter? If there are endlessways to ask for, say, a satisfactory weather report, which question ishe supposed to ask? If he asks a question, how is Sue to know to findthat one? And if Sue has already supplied an answer to a particularquestion, how is Rex to know to find that question?

Recall, Sue's goal is to supply a satisfactory answer to a question, buthow? Which question is she supposed to supply the answer to? A singleRex can ask for an answer, say a weather report, in endless differentways. Say he asks in a dozen different ways. Even if Sue sees thesequestions, which one should she answer? As a practical matter, sheusually cannot answer all of them individually. And further, withmultiple Rex's entering questions asking for similar satisfactoryanswers (say the Rex's are all asking in different ways for “a” Miamiweather report) how is Sue to answer so many different questions? Again,as a practical matter, she usually cannot answer all of themindividually.

Consider the following list of seven ways to ask about the weather inMiami. This list is quite short compared what would really be in ACconcerning the weather in Miami (which could be tens of millions ofquestions or even far more). Assume that seven different Rex's haveentered these questions.

-   1. Weather report, Miami?-   2. What's the weather going to be like today in Miami?-   3. What's it going to do outside in Miami?-   4. How hot is it going to get in Miami?-   5. What does the weather say today in Miami?-   6. NWS report for Miami?-   7. National Weather Service report for Miami?

Now, let's say that Sue even finds these seven questions. To repeat,which one should she provide an answer to? If there really were onlyseven different ways to ask for a weather report then she could answerthem all. But with natural language people phrase questions in a vastnumber of different ways.

Now, let's say that Sue has provided an answer to one of the questions.To repeat, how is Rex supposed to find it? The task is easy enough ifthere really were only seven ways to ask about the weather in Miami, butwhat if there are ten million questions in AC about the weather inMiami?

An initial solution to these problems is to use best match algorithms.These are essential but inadequate for a few reasons. First, there is nobest match question, or small set of questions, that AC can take usersto. The reality is a huge profusion of similar questions. Second, atthis time, computers cannot understand questions, which is necessary, inmost cases, to match two questions. In other words, two questions maydescribe the same answer, but AC will usually not realize the fact.(Fortunately, best match algorithms can successfully match questions inenough cases.) Third, while best match algorithms can get Rex or Sue toa given Qx, that Qx will still be isolated in the sense that AC cannotrecognize in most cases when an answer to Qx may potentially be suppliedto a given Qy. Further, if a satisfactory answer to Qx actually issupplied to Qy, AC will usually not be able to locate that answer for aRex who is at Qx, because AC does not connect that answer with Qx.

22.2 Connecting Questions with Semantic Links

The solution is to let humans make semantic links between questions sothat questions are not isolated. We will also call these question links(Q links). As was discussed in the previous chapter, chains of questionscan be formed because questions are described relative to each other.So, a question can be linked to another question, which can be linked toanother question, and so on. In this way vast numbers of questions canbe indirectly linked to one another. Whether question networks are largeor small, the questions are linked two at a time, each time by someperson deciding on the semantic relationship between the two questions.

What is a semantic relationship? We can give no precise definition.There are innumerable kinds of semantic relationships that people couldpoint out between questions. To be brief, for our purposes, a semanticrelationship means a relationship between two questions where—because ofthe meaning of the questions—a satisfactory answer to a first questionmay also be a satisfactory answer to a second question. A more generalway of putting it is that an answer to a first question might be wantedby a person who has asked (arrived at) a second question.

In other words, the meanings of two questions are compared regardingtheir answers. A semantic relationship tells why the answers to onequestion might satisfy another question. Another way of putting it isthat the answers to the question are compared. Some relationships haveto do with a difference between the questions concerning their answers,and some have to do with a similarity. (These things become clearer inthe next chapter, where several semantic relationships are described.Note: It may be worthwhile to glance at the next chapter at this point.)

For example, Qx might be called less specific relative to Qy which ismore specific relative to Qx. The corresponding link, which can becalled a less specific to more specific (LS-MS) link, describes therelationship between the answers to the two questions. Another exampleof a semantic link is a synonym to synonym (Syn—Syn) link. When twoquestions are linked by a Syn—Syn link that means that some user thinksthat the two questions refer to the same set, or “roughly” the same set,of satisfactory answers. The two questions are described, labeled, assynonyms of each other, and a link is created between their Q-records.(The seven questions above about the weather in Miami might be linked bySyn—Syn links.)

Some semantic relationships are such that the answer to Qx will usuallyanswer Qy, but the answer to Qy will usually not answer Qx. For example,the questions: Weather report, Miami? and National Weather Servicereport for Miami? may be linked. The answer to the first question maynot answer the second question, but the answer to the second questionwill answer the first question, at least in the minds of most people.

We also call a semantic link a named link since it names therelationship between two questions. The essentials of such a link thenare:

-   1) each question is named to describe its semantic relationship to    the other question,-   2) a link is created in memory between the Q-records of each    question.    As will be seen in the next chapter, many relationships between    questions tell when the answer to one question may satisfy someone    who has asked another question.    Links Refer to Potential and Actual Answers

The semantic links we describe between questions do not tell whether thequestions have actual or missing answers. (In chapter 24 we willdescribe links that refer only to actual answers.) A semantic linkbetween two questions is meant to provide information about therelationship between the potential answers to the two questions.

If a linked question has an actual answer, the semantic link willdescribe that answer as well because the answer is supposed to be partof the set of potential answers for that question. For example, if aperson is at Q-1 (say, Weather report, Miami?) which is linked to Q-2(say, What's the weather going to be like today in Miami?) by Syn—Synlinks, and Q-2 has an actual answer, then the user and AC know that asatisfactory actual answer to Q-1 may be at Q-2.

Of course, when a question has an actual answer, a semantic link willstill refer to potential answers to that question.

Questions in Different Lands Can be Linked

It should be noted that while we say that semantic links are necessaryfor handling natural language, AC can enable users to link naturallanguage questions to questions in lands where grammar is highlyconstrained. For example, a natural language question, What are mortgagerates these days?, can be linked to a highly constrained question suchas: Table of mortgage rates in the U.S.?, which we imagine is a table ofquestions and answers, where there are strict rules that govern theentering of questions and answers.

People Create Semantic Links

People create links. So, when we say that a link compares the answers totwo questions, we mean it expresses the opinion of the creator of thelink. People, of course can disagree. There are at least three reasonsfor such disagreements, and they are worth discussing, in order tounderstand the uses and limits of semantic links.

One reason is that the people have different conditions for beingsatisfied. For example, say one person, Paul, enters:

-   Weather report, Miami? and-   National Weather Service report, Miami?    Now Paul might just be looking for any decent weather report for    Miami. He has entered both of these questions in the sense of    synonyms. To him they both refer to basically the same thing he    wants. Now, he realizes that in other people's minds there are    differences between the two questions and their potential answers.    But in his mind, at the time he is asking the questions, they are    both in search of an answer in the same set of potential answers. An    answer to either question will satisfy him.

Now, say another person, Steve, enters National Weather Service report,Miami?. He might not be satisfied by any decent weather report forMiami. And so, to him the two questions above may not be synonyms. Hemight only be satisfied by an answer that “really fits” the secondquestion. The Syn—Syn links may not be appropriate for him because hemay have different needs in an answer than Paul. In other words, therelationship between answers depends on the needs of a user at the timehe is entering questions. So a link that is appropriate for one personmay not be appropriate for another person, because the people havedifferent needs.

A second reason that people disagree about whether a link is appropriateis that people can disagree about the meaning of two questions. Peoplewill envision different kinds of potential answers for the questions andthus they will label the relationship between these potential answersdifferently. For example, Photo of a red rose? and Photo of a red, redrose? might evoke the same image in two people or they may evokedifferent images. Paul might think that these questions should bysynonyms of each other while Steve might think they should have a lessspecific to more specific relationship.

A third reason people will disagree about links is that they will havedifferent ideas about the abstract notions of behind the links, forthese notions are not well defined. Synonym question, for instance, canmean different things to different people.

Clues, the Main Idea Behind Semantic Links

While there are many kinds of useful semantic links, each of which has adifferent reason for being useful, we can give a general rationale forusing most of them (we will meet some exceptions to this rationale inchapter 26). The rationale is simply that a semantic link tells that ananswer to one question might be a satisfactory answer to anotherquestion (recall, for our discussion, “satisfactory” encompasses a rangefrom, “partially satisfactory” to “better than expected”).

We say might because here can be great uncertainty in the informationthat links give. This uncertainty comes from several sources. First, alink that is appropriate for one person might not be appropriate foranother person, as discussed above. In other words, the link may onlygive information that a certain percentage of Rex's agree with. Second,an actual answer may be disappointing. For example, Rex may agree that alink is appropriate, in the sense that the answer to Qx will answer Qy,but he may think that the actual answer at Qx is unsatisfactory. So,potentially, an answer to Qx might also answer Qy, but in actuality,given a particular answer that has been supplied, the answer does notsatisfy Qy, according to a particular Rex. Third, the semanticrelationship may be such that only certain answers to Qx will alsosatisfy Qy. For example, only certain answers to Photo of a rose? willsatisfy Photo of a red rose?.

The point here, then, is that a semantic link does not give definitiveinformation. It gives a clue about whether Qx describes a satisfactoryanswer to Qy, for a certain percentage of Rex's. In other words, a linksays that Qx has a greater than 0% chance of describing a satisfactoryanswer to Qy, according to a given Rex.

We cannot say in general what the chance will be. Semantic clues can beanywhere from very unreliable to very reliable, depending on the type oflink. Experience will tell how reliable certain links are in practice.Of course, because of their meanings, certain kinds of links should bemore reliable than others in general. For example, two questions thatare linked as Close Synonyms should have a higher chance of sharing aparticular answer than two questions that are linked as Loose Synonyms.

AC uses the link information, along with other A-stats, to selectmatches to present to Rex. For example, say Rex is at a first questionthat has no answer, and wants to see a satisfactory answer. AC mightthen show a question that has an answer and is linked to the firstquestion by a Syn—Syn link. Often AC will select poor matches becausethe semantic links give uncertain information.

We might call link information probabilistic in the sense that asemantic link indicates some probability that, for a given Rex, Qx,describes an answer that also satisfies a linked Qy. AC can developprobabilities from large samples of linked questions—registering thesatisfaction of users who have traveled along different links, and whohave found answers through different links. AC can also enable a user toinitially set the probability that the answer to Qx will also satisfyQy, and the probability that the answer to Qy will satisfy Qx.

In general, probability weightings that AC assigns will depend upon theother A-stats that are involved (and perhaps upon other factors, such asa user's past preferences, which AC can keep track of in certain ways).AC's matching rules will “learn” how to use link information to selectmatches. We take this topic up further when we discuss how AC can enableRex and Sue to travel using semantic links.

The Meaning of “Satisfy a Question”

We will often use the phrase “an answer satisfies a question”. By thiswe mean that an answer answers a question. We use “satisfies” and“answers” synonymously. But, what do we mean by these terms? An answercannot satisfy a question, it can only satisfy a person.

So, when we say that an answer satisfies a question we mean that theanswer is satisfactory to some percentage of Rex's who enter thequestion. We cannot specify a percentage. We also mean that the answerhas some probability of satisfying a particular Rex. We cannot specify aprobability.

When we say a “particular”, or a “given” Rex we do not necessarily meana random Rex who enters the question. AC may be able to keep track ofthe preferences of different Rex's, and so, AC can assign differentprobabilities that an answer will satisfy different Rex's. Still, theeasiest way to think of the phrase, “an answer satisfies a question,” isthat an answer has a probability of satisfying a random Rex.

Further, when we say an answer, we may mean a particular answer suppliedby particular Sue, or any answer supplied by a random Sue.

We say that an answer satisfies a question because it is easier toabbreviate than to include all the qualifications. But thequalifications are the reality.

Letting Humans Do the “Matching” that a Computer Can't Do

In previous chapters, the endless questions problem was also called thematching up questions problem because the idea was that we needed tomatch up all the questions that referred to, described, the “same”answer. But just as the word “same” is deceptive, so is the word“match”. No one has defined what a match is. And no one knows how thebrain does its various and continual matching tasks.

We will use the term match, even though it is deceptive, because it isconvenient and familiar, and we cannot think of a better one. Yet whilewe might say we need to match up questions, let us realize that the taskis to determine whether an answer to one question has a greater than 0%chance of satisfactorily answering another question. This task is reallywhat we mean by matching up questions.

Ideally, we want to know the probability but, in practice, we cannotgive any hard probabilities associated with any links. That's okay, justthe ability to detect the possibility that two questions share answersis enough to use and build on.

Except in special, well defined cases, only humans can tell whether twoquestions match in such a way. For example, in general a machine, at thepresent time, cannot know that an answer to a question like What's itgoing to do outside today in Miami? may also be an answer to a questionlike Today's weather report in Miami?. But a human, who speaks English,can know. So, we let humans “match” questions with semantic links. ACcan then select matches based on the human matches.

We might want a semantic link to indicate a much higher than 0% chanceof a satisfactory—and indeed it might—but that is not the point. Theability to detect that the answer to one question may also satisfyanother question, and the ability to explain why, is the key thing.

As noted, the matching is according to the tastes of each user whocreates a match, a link that is. People will disagree on matches, ofcourse. Happily, they will also agree, which is why the semanticmatching of questions can work.

AC can enable users to confirm a link, or complain about a link. AC canuse such confirmations and complaints to evaluate the accuracy of links.

Matching Often Non-Commutative and Asymmetric

One counter-intuitive thing about matching, as it is defined here, isthat it is not necessarily commutative. When we say that Qy matches Qx,or that Qy is a match for Qx, we mean that Qy describes answers thatmight satisfy Qx. But, we do not necessarily mean that Qx describesanswers that might satisfy Qy.

We have discussed this point before. We emphasize it because, ineveryday language, the term “match” usually connotes a “commutative” or“symmetric” situation. We usually think of two things—like twofingerprints, like a map and a territory, like two puzzle pieces, liketwo text strings—as matching each other, commutatively so to speak. Butin AC, two questions may match non-commutatively. For example, if:

-   Qx is: What's the UV index in Miami?, and-   Qy is: National Weather Service report for Miami?, then    Qy may be a good match for Qx because answers to Qy may answer Qx.    But, answers to Qx usually will not answer Qy. Therefore, Qx is not    a good match for Qy.

Matching has two directions in AC, one from Qx to Qy, and the other fromQy to Qx. There are match probabilities associated with each direction.Thus, in the example above, it is possible that an answer to Qx willalso answer Qy—there is some chance. But the chance is far greater thatan answer to Qy will answer Qx. If the match probabilities in bothdirections are the same or roughly the same, we might say the questionsmatch symmetrically. If the match probabilities are significantlydifferent, we might say the questions match asymmetrically (see section22.4.)

Matching Multiple Questions Through Question Networks (Q-Nets)

To solve the endless questions problem, it is not enough to match up(semantically link) just pairs of questions. The goal is to “match up”all the questions that might share the same satisfactory answer (or atleast share some of the same satisfactory answers). This goal willrarely be reached, but we still must match up as many questions as wecan where the questions might share a satisfactory answer.

The goal of matching up multiple questions is accomplished with networksof linked questions, Q-nets. We might say that a semantic link is thematching of two questions and a Q-net is the matching up of more thantwo questions.

Normally a Q-net would be greater than two linked questions, though wecan say that a single question is a Q-net of one and a pair of questionsis a Q-net of two.

(Note on terminology: A Q-net can have actual answers in the sense thatquestions in the Q-net can have direct answers. And so, a Q-net shouldperhaps be called a Q-A-net. For simplicity we will stick with “Q-net,”whether a network of linked questions includes actual answers or not.Also, when we say that a Q-net has a satisfactory answer we mean that ananswer that will satisfy a given Rex has been supplied to some questionin the Q-net.)

The Necessity of Linking Questions Indirectly

To semantically match up multiple natural language questions in AC,users usually must link most of the questions indirectly. Otherwise,each time a question is entered into AC, a user would have to seewhether or not it matched all the other questions in AC. Even if ACcould somehow find all questions that were likely matches for a newquestion, the user would still have an impractical number of matches tomake.

Taking our seven questions above, let's say that the first six havealready been entered and are linked, directly or indirectly, to eachother. Now say that the seventh is entered. A user would have to createsix new links in order for the new question to be directly connected tothe all the others. The practical solution is to link the new questionto one of the existing questions and let the new question then beindirectly linked to all the others. That is not to say that we onlylink a question to one other, but simply that it is unfeasible to createdirect links to all the “matching” questions in AC.

We see, again, that where natural language questions are concerned, thereality is a profusion of similar questions that have many differentrelationships with each other. In AC, most of these relationships mustbe identified indirectly, through indirect linkages that is.

(Note on terminology: for convenience, when we say that questions in aQ-net are linked we mean directly and indirectly.)

22.3 How and Why Q-Nets Can Work

Let us now elaborate on how the method of making Q-nets can solve thesearch problems raised earlier—what question should Rex enter to find ananswer, and what question should Sue enter to supply an answer to?

Q-nets are a solution because they can become large enough so that Rexhas a reasonable chance of asking a natural language question that ACwill—using best match algorithms—successfully match against a questionin a Q-net. (When we say successfullly, we mean that Rex is satisfied bythe match.) The Q-net, in turn, has a reasonable chance of having asatisfactory answer, which can be found by Rex and by AC, using thelinks (and other A-stats) in the Q-net.

Entering and Linking of Questions Revisited

A Q-net can grow large by the numerous linkings of questions by numeroususers. In the previous chapter we did not delve into many variations onhow AC can actually enable users to designate questions to be linked.Here we will not delve much further because the steps are fairly clear:AC must enable a user to:

-   1) designate the two questions to be linked and,-   2) to name the relationship between them.    These steps can be accomplished in many ways. Still, we should    review a few of the important variations.

When a user is at a current-Q, AC can present match candidates. The usercan then link the current-Q to one or more of these. AC can enable theuser to select the match question and designate its relationship withthe current-Q by using a linking tool. AC can also enable the user tozip to the match question, and name it with a designated link. Forexample, AC can enable the user to press a “Syn-Q” button, followed by a“Zip to” button, followed by a “click” on the match question. Thissequence is a way that AC can enable the user to go to the matchcandidate and at the same time link it by a Syn—Syn link to the questionthat was the current-Q. In other words, AC can enable users to travel toa question on screen while also designating its relationship with theprevious current-Q.

When a user is at a current-Q, AC can enable him to enter a new questionto be linked to the current-Q. The current-Q can remain the current-Q,while the new question is stored as a question that is linked to thecurrent-Q. Normally a newly entered question does become the current-Q,but AC can also enable the user to choose to stay at a question whileentering new questions to be linked to the question he remains at. Thisway was covered in the previous chapter. In FIG. 13, we show this wayagain, where the user is at Q-1 5000 and enters two questions, Q-2 5001and Q-3 5002, and links them to Q-1, which remains the current-Q.

Another basic way of enabling a user to link two questions is to enablethe user to enter a new question to become the current-Q, and then linkthe new current-Q to the previous current-Q. AC can enable the user tomake the link when he enters the new question. For example, if thecurrent-Q is Photo of a red, red rose?, the user might then press aNew-Q button followed by a Syn-Q button and then enter, Photo of a redrose?. Thus the user calls this new question a synonym of the previouscurrent-Q. AC then labels both as synonyms and create a Syn—Syn linkbetween them. In FIG. 13 we show this way where a user enters Q-1 5003which is the current-Q first, and then he enters Q-2 5004 and links itto Q-1. But in this case, Q-2 becomes the current-Q when it is entered.The user then enters Q-3 5005 which itself becomes the current-Q and islinked to Q-2.

This way of linking questions sequentially can be convenient because anatural way that people ask for answers is to ask a series of questions,until they find a good response. In the context of AC, Rex's goal is tolook for a question that may have the answer he is looking for. He mayhave to ask a series of questions until he finds an adequately matchingquestion. For example, he might ask, Why is it easier to balance on abike when you're moving than when you're standing still?. If he finds nogood match, he might then enter, Why are you able to balance on a bikewhen you're moving?. If he gets no good match he might then enter,Physics of balance on a bike?, and so on, until he finds a matchquestion he is satisfied with.

In looking for answers, it is typical of people to ask a series, a chainso to speak, of questions, where each question in the chain has arelationship with the previous and subsequent question. When a person isasking questions in this natural way, it is usually more natural to makea new question the current-Q. Thus, AC can enable a user to describethis relationship of the new question to the preceding question, whilemaking the new question the current-Q.

Growing Q-Nets

Let us look at a few of the basic situations by which users grow Q-netsin order to show how Q-nets can become large. For simplicity in thediscussion, we assume in 1-3 below that Rex's are growing a Q-net. Sue'sgrow them too, and in the same way, but Rex's do more of the job. In 4below we explain an important way that only Sue's grow Q-nets. Forsimplicity, we use the two tiny Q-nets below as examples, and imaginethat the Q-nets are only made up of questions connected by Syn—Syn links(a large Q-net would normally be made up of questions connected byvarious links).

-   Q-Net A What's the weather going to be like today in Miami?    -   What's it going to do outside in Miami?    -   How hot is it going to get in Miami?-   Q-Net B What does the weather say today in Miami?    -   NWS report for Miami?    -   National Weather Service report for Miami?        1. Adding a New Question to an Existing Q-Net

When Rex enters a new question, AC uses best match algorithms to presenttentative matches. Each tentative match is already part of an existingQ-net in AC. Rex can then decide whether the new question should belinked to one of the matches. If Rex decides a link should be made, itis made, and the new question is added to an existing Q-net in AC. Forexample, Rex might enter, Weather report in Miami today?. This questionmight be tentatively matched with National Weather Service report forMiami? in Q-net B above. If Rex decides to link the two questions as,say, synonyms, then Rex's question becomes part of Q-net B.

Another basic way Rex can add to an existing Q-net is to already be at aquestion in the Q-net and then enter a new question and link it to thefirst question.

2. Joining Two Q-Nets

When Rex is in a Q-net, AC can suggest a tentative match to thecurrent-Q such that the match candidate is not part of the Q-net thatRex is in. Rex can then decide whether the current-Q should be linked tothe tentative match. If he decides a link should be made, it is made,and the Q-net of the current-Q is connected to the Q-net of thetentative match question. Thus two Q-nets are joined. For example, ifRex is at What's the weather going to be like today in Miami? in Q-net Aabove, and AC suggests a match of National Weather Service report forMiami? from Q-net B, and Rex decides to link the current-Q with thematch candidate, then the two Q-nets are connected.

Of course, any time Rex links two questions that are part of separateQ-nets, he is joining these Q-nets. Questions from different Q-nets canbe shown on screen in a variety of ways, not just by AC showing a matchcandidate. For example, Rex might call up a past question he has askedthat is part of a different Q-net than the one the current-Q is part of.

3. Making a Mini-Net (a Q-Chain)

Another way Rex can grow a Q-net is to grow his own. He does this byentering a series of questions all aimed at finding the samesatisfactory answer. For example, Rex may enter ten questions trying tofind out what the weather will be like in Miami. He can link all thesetogether. Usually he would do this sequentially so that as he enters anew question he tells what its relationship is with the previousquestion he entered. In this way, Rex can make a “mini-net” (which wecan also call a mini-Q-chain).

Mini-nets will be common because the natural way Rex will often ask foran answer is with a bunch of related questions. He keeps asking until hegets a good match in AC, then he goes to that question. Meanwhile whathas happened is that he has asked, say, ten related questions that arerephrases or rough synonyms of each other. If one of these questions isthen linked to an existing Q-net, the whole mini-net is joined to theexisting Q-net.

(Making a mini-net is not mechanically different from the first wayabove because Rex is creating a Q-net in AC and then adding to it onequestion at a time. What is different is the fact that the mini-net ismade up only of his questions, which then may or may not be connected toa Q-net made up of other people's questions.)

4. Adding a New Question and Answer to an Existing Q-Net

When Sue arrives at a question and wants to supply an answer to it, shemay feel that the answer satisfies a semantically related, new question.So she then enters the new question, links it to the previous current-Qand then enters an answer to her new question. The link tells otherusers how her answer can satisfy the first question. For example, if sheis at What's it going to do outside in Miami? and she wants to supplyher answer to a new question, say, What's the weather going to do inMiami?, she can enter this question, link it to the first question, andsupply her answer to the new question.

Large Q-Nets Especially Accessible

Any question can have a direct answer supplied to it. Most won't thoughbecause it is impractical to supply answers directly to most questionsthat have been entered. That's because questions are generally easier tocreate and enter than answers. (There are ways of enabling Sue's tosupply an answer to multiple questions quickly, but even so it seemsthat questions that have no direct answers will predominate.) In fact,the largest proportion of questions may be those that are only enteredonce and are never found again.

While most questions will not have direct answers, a large proportion(no one can say what proportion) will have indirect answers.

A Q-net, then, is made up mostly of questions that are used to accessthe Q-net and to travel in the Q-net.

Rex can ask a bunch of natural language questions in search of “an”answer and he will often find a reasonable match for one of thequestions in a large Q-net. Why? Because someone else will probably haveasked a similar question before, and that similar questions will oftenbe in a large Q-net. The match question often will not have a directanswer (unless Rex has specified that condition in a search stat). Thus,a large Q-net enables Rex to accesses it from one question, a matchquestion, and then find a satisfactory answer at another question in it,if such an answer exists.

Let us elaborate a little more on how AC enables Rex and Sue to travelin a Q-net.

22.4 Traveling Using Semantic Links (Finding Questions and Answers inQ-Nets)

AC enables Rex and Sue to travel and get answers in the same ways(though Rex's actions are registered as demand information, and Sue'sare not). For simplicity, we will just refer to Rex. Let us then recapthe basics of how Rex can travel and get answers in AC.

-   a. Rex can enter a new question or a new Q+.

(Recall, one way that Rex can enter a new question is to be at aquestion and then add or edit Q-specs. And one way that Rex can enter anew Q+is to be at a question and then add or edit A-stats, also calledsearch stats.)

-   b1. Rex can ask AC to show questions that match the current-Q or Q+.

(Recall, AC can show matching Q-A locations as well as Q-locations.)

-   b2. Or, Rex can ask AC to output an answer that matches the    current-Q or Q+.-   c. If AC shows matching questions, Rex can go to (select) one of    these.

Of course, when we say that Rex travels, it is AC that is doing thework, finding and showing match questions and answers based on Rex'sinstructions and on its rules for evaluating matches. When we say thatAC evaluates a question we mean that it examines a Q-string and thecorresponding A-stats (information in the Q-record).

Locating Satisfactory Matches with Semantic Links

What's new with semantic links is that link information is another kindof A-stats which can be used by Rex and AC to locate matches. When wesay that Rex uses semantic link information, we mean in the sense ofsearch stats that Rex enters. When we say that AC uses semantic links wemean in the sense of evaluating the links between questions to locatematch questions and answers.

The simplest way to describe how AC evaluates semantic links is to saythat AC uses them as probabilistic screens to eliminate unsatisfactorymatch questions, and identify satisfactory ones. However, in realitythere are a lot more factors than links that AC can use to determinewhether a match is satisfactory or not. And many of these factors affecthow AC evaluates the links themselves. In other words, semantic linksare not independent, static probability screens. Nevertheless, to getthe main idea across, we will pretend that they are, at first. Then, wewill add to the picture.

A Simple View: Semantic Links as Probabilistic Screens

When any two questions, Qx and Qy, are directly linked, AC assigns twoprobabilities:

-   1) the probability that Qx describes an answer, Ax, that will    satisfy Qy, and-   2) the probability that Qy describes an answer, Ay, that will    satisfy Qx.

In other words, a link has two directions. One direction signifies theprobability that Ax will satisfy Qy. The other direction signifies theprobability that Ay will satisfy Qx. Put another way, if Rex is at Qx,then Qy has a certain probability of being a satisfactory match,according to Rex. Conversely, if Rex is at Qy, then Qx has a certainprobability, which may be different, of being a satisfactory match,according Rex. The differences in probabilities come about because ofthe meaning of the links and other factors that AC can take intoconsideration.

So, using a semantic link, AC can guess by some assigned probabilitywhether Ay will satisfy Qx. AC can continue this guessing process bycontinuing down a path of links, using the probability of a match fromone question to another to get a resulting probability between twoindirectly linked questions. From Qx, AC follows a path of linkedquestions to find the questions that have the highest chance of beingsatisfactory matches to Qx.

We will give an example of a path of four linked questions, linkedsequentially by three different kinds of links to show what we mean. Wewill also imagine the match probabilities that AC assigns initially. Asshown in FIG. 14:

-   Q-1: 5010 What's the UV index today in Miami?    connected by a Syn—Syn link (synonym to synonym) to-   Q-2: 5011 How bad are the ultraviolet rays in Miami today?    connect- LC-MC link (less complete to more complete) to-   Q-3: 5012 Weather report for Miami?    connected by LS-MS link (less specific to more specific) to-   Q-4: 5013 National Weather Service report, Miami?

Now we imagine the probabilities that an answer to one question willsatisfy another question. We imagine that:

-   an answer to Q-4 has a 0.9 5014 chance of satisfying Q-3,-   an answer to Q-3 has a 0.7 5015 chance satisfying Q-2,-   an answer to Q-2 has a 0.8 5016 chance of satisfying Q-1.    And thus if we multiply from one question to the other, we get a    resulting probability that the answer to Q-4 has a 0.504    (0.9×0.7×0.8) chance of satisfying Q-1.

In other words, an answer to National Weather Service report, Miami? hasa 0.504 chance of satisfying a Rex who has asked, What's the UV indextoday in Miami?. What we mean by this is that the answer that theaverage Sue will supply to Q-4 has a 0.504 chance of satisfying theaverage Rex who has asked Q-1.

If we travel along the path in the opposite direction, we see, verydifferently, that the answer that the average Sue will provide to Q-1has very little chance of satisfying the average Rex who has asked Q-4.We imagine the following match probabilities:

-   an answer to Q-1 has a 0.8 5017 chance of answering Q-2,-   an answer to Q-2 has a 0.01 5018 chance of answering Q-3,-   an answer to Q-3 has a 0.1 5019 chance of answering Q-4.    And thus if we multiply from one question to the other, we get a    resulting probability that the answer to Q-1 has a 0.0008 chance of    satisfying Q-4.

(In FIG. 14, the two directions of links are illustrated in two ways. Onthe left side of the figure, we show arrows pointing from one answer toanother. Each arrow has a number associated with it, signifying theprobability that one answer will be a satisfactory substitute for theanswer it is pointing to. On the right side of the figure, we showarrows pointing from one question to another. Each arrow has a numberassociated with it, signifying the probability that a user at onequestion will find a satisfactory answer—missing or actual—at thequestion being pointed to.)

Eliminating Unsatisfactory Matches

Now, as shown in FIG. 15, let us imagine that Rex 5030 is at Qx 5031, ina large Q-net, which we only show a tiny, simplified portion of. (Forsimplicity's a sake, we do not show multiple links between questions andwe do not show more than two links per question. In reality, Q-nets canbe vast and within them questions can have, in theory, virtuallyunlimited direct links.)

We imagine, further, that Rex asks to see matches. AC then evaluates thesemantic links using Qx as the origin of the search. The direction ofthe search is portrayed in the figure as arrows between questionspointing in one direction—away from Qx.

Usually, AC will not have a static probability threshold for decidingupon satisfactory matches. AC will choose some number of the most likelysatisfactory answers. Thus the threshold depends on the alternativesthat AC examines and on the number of matches that AC chooses.

However, in our toy example, we imagine that AC has a threshold fordeclaring a question to be a satisfactory match of Qx. We imagine thatthe threshold is a probability of 0.3. If AC finds that Qy has a 0.3 orgreater chance of matching a Qx, then AC considers Qy to be asatisfactory match candidate. AC might not show the candidate becausethere may be many others, but the point is that the candidate makes the“first cut” in the selection process.

Each link has a match probability associated with it in a givendirection. For the sake of illustration, we imagine only two differentmatch probabilities, 0.9 and 0.1, which we show in the direction outfrom Qx.

Starting at Qx, AC goes from one question to the next, seeking matches.AC starts at Qx with an initial probability of matching Qx of 100%. Wewill call the probability that a question will match Qx by the nameresulting probability. Starting with an initial probability of 100%, ACgoes from one question to the next, multiplying conditionally by thelink probabilities to yield resulting probabilities for the linkedquestions.

In other words, when AC is at a question Qi, on a path from Qx, and ACevaluates a directly linked question, Q, AC multiplies the resultingprobability for Qi by the link probability, in the direction of Qj. Thismultiplication gives the resulting probability for Qj. If Qj is asatisfactory match—if this resulting probability is above somethreshold—AC “goes to” Qj. Then, AC evaluates the questions linkeddirectly to Qj.

As shown in FIG. 15, AC identifies numerous satisfactory matches,signified by the letter “M” 5032, and eliminates numerous otherquestions, signified by the letters “NM” 5033. As can be seen, ACeliminates possibilities by not examining a path in a given directiononce it finds that a question is an unsatisfactory match. For example, a“hub” question 5034 leads into a non-matching question 5035. AC thenwill not examine the next questions 5036, 5037 in that direction, onthat path, because the probability of a match will be too low, asindicated by the first non-matching question 5035. (Actually, this ruledoes not always hold but, for simplicity's sake, we assume that itdoes.) Thus, a search down a path of questions is cut off by anon-matching question.

Note though, there can be more than one link (avenue) to a question, andtherefore, even if a search is blocked from one link, the question maypossibly be accessed (found in a search) from another. Since semanticlinks do not have any hard deductive logic defining them, a questionthat cannot be accessed by one route will often be accessible byanother.

Match Paths (Traveling from AC's Point of View)

To explain further, we will give some names to a search that AC conductsusing semantic links.

When AC starts at Qx, the current-Q, and examines questionssequentially, looking for matches along a series of linked questions, wesay that AC is traveling in the Q-net. The current-Q is called theorigin of the search.

Rex does not see all the questions that AC travels to (evaluates). Rexonly sees the matches that AC chooses to show to him. Rex may thendecide to go to one of these questions, in which case he jumps from onepoint in the Q-net to another (we have also called this process “goingto” or “zipping to a question”).

In searching for matches, AC can take many paths from an originquestion. We call all the paths that AC takes from the origin by thename match path, while connected parts of the total path might be calledjust paths or sub-paths.

The linked questions in a match path are called stops.

Stops that AC does not show to Rex are called hidden stops.

Stops that AC does show to Rex are called displayed stops.

(Since AC can only show a certain number of questions at a time, only acertain number of stops will be displayed at first. The rest will behidden. If Rex asks to scroll through matches then some of the hiddenstops will become displayed.)

Stops that AC determines are unsatisfactory matches are called deadstops.

When Rex goes to a displayed stop that is directly linked to thecurrent-Q, Rex is making direct jump.

When Rex goes to a displayed stop that is indirectly linked to thecurrent-Q, Rex is making an indirect jump.

Thus we have two different perspectives on traveling in a Q-net: AC'sperspective, in which AC starts from Qx and examines paths of linkedquestions; and Rex's perspective, in which Rex can jump to matches thatAC determines are best to show.

The Probability Screens are not Necessarily Conditional

When AC travels along more than one link on a path, it does notnecessarily multiply the match probabilities associated with those linksas if they were conditional probabilities. That's because how theprobabilities are evaluated can depend on many factors. For example, howthe links were created, and by whom, can be important.

Say, for instance, that one person enters ten questions (Q-1 throughQ-10) and links them sequentially one after the other as synonyms. Hemight think that Q-1 is as much a synonym to Q-10 as it is to Q-2. If ACtravels from Q-1 to Q-10, multiplying conditionally from one question tothe next, Q-1 and Q-2 will have the highest probability of match, whileQ-1 and Q-10 will have the lowest—even though that might not have beenthe user's interpretation. In other words, in the user's mind, thesynonym relationship between Q-1 and Q-10 might not depend conditionallyon Q-1's relationships with any of the intermediate questions. On theother hand, if ten different people enter questions that get linkedsequentially as synonyms, then Q-1 and Q-10 might indeed be the leastsynonymous (have the lowest probability of matching). The sameevaluation rules should not be used in both situations.

As AC travels, it might, or might not, multiply conditionally from onequestion to the next. Either way, it will have rules that adjustprobabilities in various ways to suit different situations. We cannotsuggest rules for setting and evaluating the probabilities associatedwith links, but only say that the possible situations are very diverse,and the idea of static, conditional probability screens does notsuffice.

Dynamic Link Probabilities

The match probabilities associated with either direction of a linkdepend on a variety of A-stats. These A-stats change, and so the matchprobabilities change.

For example match probabilities can depend on whether there is more thanone link between two questions. If there is one link and then another isadded, for instance, the match probabilities will likely change.

Particularly important in affecting match probabilities are A-statshaving to do with the usage of links. AC registers the travel that takesplace on a link and the direction of the travel. When we say travel wemean AC's travel and Rex's jumps. The greater the traffic, in general,the higher probability that the link gives good information. Therefore,when a link is traveled on in a given direction, AC can increase thematch probability in that direction. (AC can also decrease the matchprobabilities of questions that are not selected by Rex.)

However, it is also important that AC take into account whether thetraveling was satisfactory. Thus AC also takes into account what Rexdoes at a question that he jumps to—AC registers whether Rex made ano-request, whether he got an answer, whether he complained about theanswer, whether he traveled to another question, whether he complainedabout a link, and so on.

“Satisfaction information” can be very important in setting matchprobabilities (and such information can be crucial for ranking matchesas well). There are different kinds of satisfaction information, ofcourse, and the differences are important. For example, an o-requestusually denotes more interest than just a simple es-request (where auser simply arrives at a question). While we cannot give any rules forevaluating satisfaction information, the point is that AC registers morethan just travel along links. Any information that tells whether Rex hasbeen satisfied or not by the matches shown can be used to alter thematch probabilities. By using this kind of information to set matchprobabilities, AC “learns” how to use a Q-net to more successfullyselect matches.

As shown in FIG. 16 say Rex 5040 is at Qx 5041, and AC shows him threedirect MS-Q's: Q-1, Q-2 and Q-3. Now we imagine that Rex makes a directjump to Q-3 5042 and that he makes an o-request at that question. Theseactions would indicate a successful match selection, and so AC couldincrease the probability that Q-3 is a satisfactory match to Q-1.

The situation is a more complicated when Rex makes an indirect jump.Here there are intermediate links and intermediate, hidden stops. Andso, AC can have rules for “strengthening” each link in the path that ACtraveled on to get to the question (the displayed stop) that Rex jumpedto. By “strengthening”, we mean increasing the match probability in thedirection that AC traveled in to get to the displayed stop.

It's important to note that traveling does not have to include Rex'sjumps. If Rex asks AC to output an answer, and that answer is anindirect answer, then AC will be the only one to travel. AC will travelto the direct question and get an answer. Moreover, AC will alsoregister whether Rex is satisfied by the answer or not. If he issatisfied, AC can increase the match probability of intermediatequestions in the direction of AC's travel. Conversely, if Rex isdissatisfied, AC can decrease the match probabilities.

It should be pointed out, though, that rules for increasing ordecreasing match probabilities of intermediate stops might not be valid,because that AC cannot detect which probabilities in the intermediatepath should be increased or decreased.

As an alternative to (or in addition to) strengthening the probabilitiesof intermediate links, AC can make a short-cut. This procedure isdiscussed next.

Short-Cuts

When Rex makes an indirect jump from Qx to Qy, AC may make an implicitmatch link between Qx and Qy. When we say implicit we mean that no userhas created the link. Such a link might only have one direction, from Qxto Qy—where AC assigns a probability that Qy matches Qx, but does notassign a probability that Qx matches Qy.

(Any user can create an explicit semantic link. And, if numerous Rex'sgo from Qx to Qy, then it is likely that one of the Rex's will link thetwo questions explicitly. Still, the point is that AC can by itself makea direct link between Qx and Qy indicating that Qy is a good match forQx.)

By making an implicit link between Qx and Qy, AC bypasses theintermediate stops between the two questions. In this way, AC buildsupon the links in a Q-net by making its own links. AC can travel on itsown links as it would on any others when it searches for matches. Inother words, rather than evaluate the intermediate questions, AC mayjust use short-cuts.

When AC takes a short-cut to Qy, that does not mean that AC necessarilydisplays Qy—AC can continue its search from that stop.

So we see, again, that semantic links create a network that AC buildsupon and “learns” how to use.

Best Matching: Semantic Links Used With Other A-Stats

As discussed above, AC can use semantic link information to identify aset of questions that have above a certain chance of being satisfactorymatches to the current-Q or Q+. Yet AC's task is not only to identifysatisfactory matches but to find the best matches. The ideal is to showRex the questions that he would want to see if he knew all the questionsand answers in AC.

So AC's task is to come up with the best set to be shown, and scrolledthrough. AC can accomplish this task by using A-stats (including, ofcourse, A-A-stats of Q-A-locations) and its internal matching rules.

Rex may only ask AC to output answers, in which case Rex only sees ananswer or “no answer found.” Still, AC must look for a best match.

A quick digression is in order about the sequence of events. Theprevious discussion may have implied that AC first finds a set ofsatisfactory matches using semantic links, and then culls that list tofind best matches. However, this sequence has only been presented inorder to more clearly explain the role of semantic links. In reality, ACmay evaluate questions using semantic links and other parameters at thesame time. It may also narrow down best match candidates using othersearch parameters before it uses semantic links. There are innumerableways of making searches more efficient. We not concerned with efficientsearching here, but are only trying to get across the main functions ofsemantic links.

Therefore, for simplicity's sake, we will assume that AC has identifieda set satisfactory matches and that it now has to select best matchesfrom that set. To illustrate, we will consider another toy example. Asshown in FIG. 17, we will take nine linked questions, and assume thatRex 5050 is at a current-Q 5051. Further, we assume that AC hasidentified all the other questions as satisfactory matches. Finally, wesimplify and assume that AC is looking for one best match.

(The main simplification, actually, is in the number of satisfactorycandidates that AC would consider. In reality, there could be billionsof satisfactory matches for a given question. Despite such huge numbers,A-stats enable AC to narrow down a set of matches.)

A-Stats as Screens

When Rex enters A-stats (search stats) as part of a Q+, he can specifythat they are optional or mandatory. If he specifies “mandatory” thatmeans that the search stat conditions must be met. AC then screens outall questions and answers that do not meet these conditions. Forexample, Rex might specify that AC only show questions that have actualanswers that are below $0.25. AC screens out all questions with missinganswers, and all questions that have answers above $0.25. In FIG. 17,such screen would leave only one question 5052 and answer 5053.

AC will usually screen out questions and answers that do not matchoptional search stats as well.

Once AC screens out questions and answers that do not match searchstats, it may still be left with too many matches to show at once. ACmay be in the same situation if Rex has not entered any search stats. ACmust then select matches to show according its rules for ranking matchesthat is.

(Another possibility, which we ignore here, is for AC to ask Rex formore search information.)

A-Stats Used to Rank Matches

We cannot give any particular kinds of rules. Selecting best matches islike selecting contestants for a beauty pageant—there is usually norigorous way to compare different selection criteria. For example, Rexmay enter as a mandatory A-stats: actual answer in, and as optionalA-stats:

-   time entered: after 12:00 PM 5054-   price: under $0.20. 5055    Yet, in our figure, there is no question or answer that fits both    these criteria. So which should AC choose? Of course, we can give no    rules. As noted, the best approach to making matching rules is an    evolutionary one, where AC learns to select matches to show.

(In case we have given the impression that AC must find “the” best matchby ranking all the satisfactory matches, it should be noted that, in theinterest of efficiency, AC will not necessarily take the time to rankall the satisfactory questions and actual answers; it might just selectthe first matches that it scores as “good enough,” just as humansusually do when seeking something.)

Below we give some examples of the kinds of A-stats AC can use inselecting best matches and explain how they can narrow down choices,when used in default/ranking rules (this subject taken up further insection 22.5).

Whether an actual answer is supplied directly to a question. AC candefault to showing questions that have actual answers supplied to them.In AC, the vast majority of questions will have no direct answers, andso this default is an important way of ranking questions.

The time an answer was supplied. Given equivalent choices, AC maydefault to showing the most recently entered answer. There may be, forexample, millions of weather reports, but there is only one that hasbeen entered most recently.

The POE for an answer. Given equivalent choices, AC may choose thequestion that has the highest POE. This demand factor indicates theanswers that are wanted more than others and enables Rex's to pool theirefforts.

Quality stats about an answer. AC may default to showing answers thathave certain quality characteristics, such a low refund rate, or a lowcomplaint rate, or positive ratings. We cannot describe the host ofquality ratings that can be applied to actual answers, but only say thatthey can be crucial to determining what match questions and answers areshown. (Often Rex will specify quality screens.)

Arrival stats for a question. Especially important in choosing a matchare arrival stats for a question—how many people have gone to thequestion as compared to the other questions being considered. The POE ata question is one indicator of interest in an answer, but traffic aloneto a question can be pivotal as well. As mentioned, AC will also takeinto account whether the travel was satisfactory.

Destination stats for a question. Destination stats are also valuablefor they tell where users have gone to from a question. Thus, when AC istrying to find matches for a question, it may default to the mostpopular destinations from that question. Again, whether or not the userswere satisfied by those destination is key. (Note: a short-cut link thatAC makes can be looked at as a kind of destination stat.)

Semantic relationship of match candidate relative to the current-Q. ACmay favor questions that have certain relationships with the current-Qover questions that have other relationships. For example, AC may choosea “more complete” question to the current-Q over “synonym” question tothe current-Q. The point is simply that the semantic relationship of apotential best match question to the current-Q can be used as a default,just as it can be used as an explicit screen by Rex. (Often, theserelationships will be indirect. We discuss the meaning of indirectsemantic relationships below.)

Aside on Using the “Logic” of Semantic Relationships

What does it mean to say that Rex asks to see questions that areindirectly linked to the current-Q by a certain kind of link? If thereis more than one link separating two questions, how is AC to determinethe relationship between the indirect questions? For example, if Rex isat a question and asks to see synonym questions that are indirectlylinked to the current-Q, how can AC find them?

AC can apply the “logic” of the semantic relationships. Semanticrelationships, theoretically, have a logic of sets behind them. But,since the sets are not well defined, the logic only worksprobabilistically. And yet, there are no standard probabilities.Therefore, there isn't real logic. Still, AC can use the theoreticallogic behind the relationships.

For example, the synonym to synonym relationship is commutative in thesense that if Q-A is a synonym to Q-B then Q-B is a synonym to Q-A. Itis also transitive in the sense that if Q-A is a synonym to Q-B, and Q-Bis a synonym to Q-C, then Q-A is a synonym to Q-C. By contrast, the lessspecific and more specific relationship is not commutative. If Q-A ismore specific than Q-B, then Q-B is not more specific than Q-A. Therelationship is transitive in the sense that if Q-A is more specificthan Q-B, and Q-B is more specific than Q-C, then Q-A is more specificthan Q-C. Most of the semantic relationships described in the nextchapter have a some kind of commutativity and/or transitivity that ACcan use to determine—on a probabilistic basis—the semantic relationshipbetween indirectly linked questions.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17, if Rex is Q-1, 5051 and asks to see amore specific questions, AC can use the Syn—Syn link 5056 and then anLS-MS link 5057 leads to a more specific question. From this question,AC can use LS-MS links 5058 to show Rex other questions that are evenmore specific.

Whether or not Rex explicitly states a preference for questions thathave certain semantic relationships to the current-Q, AC can use thelogic of semantic relationships when evaluating satisfactory matchcandidates to find best match candidates. As noted above, AC may favorquestions that have certain kinds of indirect semantic relationships tothe current-Q over other kinds.

Traveling and Getting Answers from Rex's Point of View

Now we will look, from Rex's point of view, at how semantic links can beused to travel in AC and get answers. We will take our toy Q-net ofseven questions about the weather in Miami. For illustration's sake, weassume that the seven questions are linked sequentially from top tobottom by Syn—Syn links. This Q-net is pictured in FIG. 18. We willassume that Q-5 5101 has an actual answer 5102. In reality, of course, aQ-net can be vast, with a multitude of actual answers and a greatermultitude of questions.

1. Rex can ask AC to show Matches.

As discussed, AC can use link information to find matches to thecurrent-Q. If Rex 5103 is at Q-2 5104, AC might show, say, Q-1 5105, Q-55101 and Q6 5107 which AC knows probabilistically are matches because ofthe Syn—Syn links. Once matches are shown, Rex can go to one. Rex may ormay not go to a question that has an actual answer. If he does go to aquestion with a direct answer, Rex may ask to have that answeroutputted. This way to get an actual answer was called the human matchedanswer output path (HMA output path) in chapter 5.

2. Rex can Enter new Q-Specs and ask AC to show Matches.

Here Rex is entering a new question, but AC may still use the Q-net Rexis in to search for matches since the new question, created by the newQ-specs, is very similar to the previous current-Q. As above, Rex can goto one of the matches.

3. Rex can Enter A-Stats (Search Stats) and ask AC to show Matches.

Using the Q-net that Rex is in, AC can look for matches to the Q+. Rexcan enter all kinds of A-stats, of course. Rex can ask to seeanswers—missing and actual—according to their popularity, cost, length,timeliness, and so on. As discussed, A-stats are key to narrowing downchoices and to finding an actual answer. (Rex can ask AC to only showmatch questions that have actual answers.)

4. Rex can ask AC to output an answer.

Rex can choose the machine matched answer (MMA) output path, discussedin chapter 5. AC then searches for the best answer in the Q-net. At Q-55101 AC finds an answer by using the Syn—Syn links and outputs theanswer. So, because all the questions are linked, directly orindirectly, with Syn—Syn links, Rex can land at any one of the questionsand let AC find a satisfactory answer through the links.

5. Rex can enter Q-specs and ask AC to output an answer.

The points made in 4 above apply.

6. Rex can enter A-stats (search stats) and ask AC to output an answer.

The points made in 4 above apply.

As mentioned above, not only can AC use link information implicitly assearch information, but Rex can use it explicitly as well.

7. Rex can ask AC to show questions that are directly linked to thecurrent-Q. And he can specify the type of link. For example, he can askto see direct synonym questions. (If there are a large number of suchquestions linked directly to the current-Q, AC must apply other criteriato determine which linked questions to show.)

8. Rex can ask AC to show questions that are linked indirectly to thecurrent-Q. He can specify the type of link as well. For example, he canask to see synonyms that are directly or indirectly linked to thecurrent-Q.

9. Rex can use link information along with other A-stats, for example,he can ask to see synonym questions with actual answers under a certainprice.

We have been discussing traveling in a single Q-net. But, the Q-net thatRex is in may not have a satisfactory actual answer. Therefore, AC cansearch other Q-nets. Moreover, AC can enable Rex to specify whether amatch should be sought in the current Q-net or not.

Q-Net Statistics

AC can give Rex useful information about the Q-net he is in. Thisinformation can help Rex decide whether or not he should continuepursuing an answer in that Q-net. For example, AC can tell Rex:

-   how many questions are in the Q-net,-   how many actual answers are in the Q-net,-   how many questions are related to the current-Q by a given kind of    relationship (AC will use the logic of semantic links when the    relationships are indirect),-   how many satisfactory actual answers AC finds to the current-Q.    Rex's Main Search Goal Achieved

So, given a Q-net with an actual answer that satisfies Rex, Rex does notneed to guess the “right” question to ask in order to find an answer. Hecan ask any question that AC matches tentatively to a question in aQ-net. If Rex approves of the match, he can go to the match question,which means he is in the Q-net. If that question has no direct answer,he can ask AC to output the best answer that AC can find in the Q-net tothe current-Q, or Q+. Or, he can ask AC to show him the question(s) thathave the best answer(s) to the current-Q, or Q+. He can go to one ofthese match questions, or ask to see more of them. If he goes to one, hecan ask to have the direct answer outputted. So, whether he uses the HMAor MMA output path, his basic search problem is solved.

(We are simplifying above. If Rex is at Qx, a satisfactory actual answerat Qy may not be findable. We presume above that a question, Qy, with asatisfactory actual answer, is adequately linked to Qx in the sense thatQy has a reasonable chance of being found from Qx, using semantic links.We are also simplifying in the sense that we assume that the answeroutputted is satisfactory. In fact, the answer outputted might not besatisfactory. If he is at Qx, Rex has a chance of being satisfied by anactual answer that AC finds at Qy.)

As noted, Rex can travel extensively in the Q-net and see numerous matchquestions before he asks to see any answer. Semantic links enable him tosee the best alternatives AC can find to the current Q. Thus he may finda question that describes a better answer than he originally envisioned.

Sue's Main Search Goal Achieved

Conversely, Sue does not need to supply her answer to a multitude ofsimilar questions that a multitude of Rex's have asked. She can supplyit to one question, Qy, in a Q-net, and let Qy (and her answer, Ay) befound through the questions that are adequately linked to Qy. So, herbasic search problem is also solved.

(Note: We ignore, for now, whether or not Sue's answer is better thanall the others that can satisfy Rex's current-Q or Q+. Our point is justthat Sue does not need to supply her answer to a large number ofquestions.)

22.5 Searching in the Vast Bazaar

While Rex's and Sue's main problem—choosing any suitable question atall—has been solved in principle, in practice the profusion of similarquestions in a Q-net means that search problems will still exist. Therewill be vast Q-nets with an abundance of satisfactory answers for Rex,and an abundance of opportunities for Sue. Rex will want to enterquestions that minimize his time traveling to find a satisfactoryanswer. And Sue will want to find the most profitable question(s) shecan to supply her answer to.

Vast Q-nets will also present an abundance of mirages for Rex andSue-questions with unsatisfactory answers, and questions that seem to beprofitable to answer, yet are not.

Metaphorically speaking, AC is a vast bazaar of linked stalls(signomats). The problem is that a user can only see a small number ofstalls at a time, the number that can fit on a screen. Behind those thatcan be seen, there may be millions of stalls that have potentiallysatisfying answers. So how can one find what one is looking for in thisvastness?

Using A-Stats

As discussed, the main solution is A-stats. A-stats enable Rex toidentify a satisfactory answer to buy and enable Sue to identify aprofitable answer to supply within a Q-net, because A-can drasticallynarrow down the possible match questions and/or answers.

Aside on the Usefulness of Popularity

It has been noted (in this book and in Book I) that D-info is importantA-stats information which can be used by Rex's to find answers, by Sue'sto find profitable questions to answer, and by AC to select good matchesto show to users. These uses of D-info, of course, apply where Q-netsare concerned.

It should also be noted that AC can “reinforce” the popularity ofquestions by showing popular questions as matches more than unpopularones. The relative popularity of questions depends on the situation. Insome cases, a question might be favored over another by only one requestat first, but then gain in popularity because it is shown more. The morethat people go to a given question, the more AC can show it over manyother suitable alternatives. The same applies to a Q-A-location.

There are innumerable ways of defining popularity, for example: mostpopular answers by actual sales, most popular by destination that otherusers have traveled to most from the current-Q, most popular by highestPOE.

What may happen in AC is that even though thousands of similar questionsare entered for a given answer, AC will match them against a far smallernumber of “popular” questions. In other words, AC may show users certainquestions far more than others, even though there is no great semanticdifference between the questions. That means that a question may getthousands of questions linked to it, while a similar question may getonly one or two questions linked to it. For example, there may bethousands of similar questions linked to Today's Official NationalWeather Service report for Miami? because this question has provenpopular and the actual answer at the question has satisfied thousands ofusers. AC might present this question as a match for millions of similarquestions. And users might then link many of those questions to this hubquestion.

Using a question's popularity as a selection criterion is a basic waythat AC can address the problem of what questions to show, given aprofusion of similar questions. As noted, the same principle applies toQ-A-locations. Popularity is a basic way of distinguishing one actualanswer over others, or over potential answers.

Thus, taking advantage of popularity is a basic way that AC can reducethe work load of users. And, it is a basic way that AC can reduce itsown calculation load.

Encouraging Accurate Semantic Links

Accurate semantic links are important to making searches successful. Yetit can take effort to think about and name the semantic relationshipbetween two questions. And so, AC can compensate users for making links.

AC can treat questions and links as investments where a user is chargedrent for storing a question or creating a link, but is also paid for theuse of the question or the link. “Use” can mean Rex's or AC's travelthrough the question or on the link. “Use” can also mean that an answeris bought at a question. Royalties for the question or link can be basedon connect time charges and/or on the sales of the answer. As withanswers, AC may not charge storage fees, but may simply pay a supplierwhen a link, or a question, is used.

Some users might specialize in the making of “accurate roads” betweenquestions. The benefit of making accurate links is obvious. But it isnot worth the time to make links unless people will use them. It mightonly be worthwhile spending extra time to link popular, high POE,questions. (AC can include a road building mode that is distinguishedfrom other modes or is part of supply mode. In this mode, a user'sactions would not be registered as demand information.)

AC cannot in general calculate a POE for a link because Rex's would notask for specific links to be made, as they would ask for answers. ACcould tell a user how many people have specified a certain kind oflinked question from a given question. A link maker could use thisinformation. In general, a link maker would have to guess how much alink would be used, based on the two questions being linked.

Restraining Rules

To making the search task easier, AC can also include functions forrestraining the linking of questions. The idea is to eliminate linksthat would not be used.

-   a. AC can charge users for entering questions.-   b. AC can charge users for creating links.-   c. AC can have “forgetting” rules, where questions and links that    are not used for a period of time vanish.-   d. AC can forbid automated linking, for example, by limiting a user    to creating a maximum number of links per period of time.-   e. AC can have meta-rules that forbid plagiarism. Sue's may enter    new questions simply to enter copied answers under them. Thus the    prevention plagiarism can prevent unnecessary duplication of    questions and the links between questions.    Digression on Voice Input and Output

It may seem that the multiple choices created by linked questions aresuited only for screen input and output. But often people would want touse the system by talking to it, and often users might not have ascreen. For example, user might want to use a plain old telephone as aterminal. Yet there is no doubt that choices are much harder to presentby voice because they take time to output.

More important and seemingly difficult is the problem of entering aquestion and then facing multiple possible matches, especially givenlinked questions. But this problem can be addressed by using A-stats.For example, say Rex is at What time does the Louvre open on Tuesday?and AC has too many questions and answers that can match the question.He can then add as search stats: Please give me the most popular answerbought, under 25 cents. With these criteria added to the Q-string, ACcan find a question that is in the same Q-net as the current-Q, and thathas an answer that has satisfied numerous other users.

(Note: though an answer may originally have been supplied by text, itcan be outputted by text-to-speech functions.)

Where voice recognition and AC are concerned, questions have an inherentadvantage. They are usually short. Thus a user can enter a question byvoice in multiple ways and AC can look for a best match using themultiple phrasings. Normally, voice recognition suffers from problems ofinterpretation, but because questions are usually short messages,multiple phrasings can enable the system to find a good match. Once thesystem arrives at a good match, A-stats can be added, especially thosespecifying the most popular answers.

Note: Answers, even long ones, can be entered by voice if AC has voicerecognition functions. An answer can be confirmed by the user or“cleaned up” at a later time.

22.6 Semantic Links and Economic Goals

Having glossed over economic issues in the previous sections of thischapter, we now take up the economic problems that are posed by theendless questions reality.

We said in chapter 3 that the “organizing goal” of AC is to make goodsales forecasts for answers, and that the “foundation task” is to counthow many people want an answer. And we said in chapter 4 that theendless questions reality poses a problem: given that endless questionscan refer to the “same” answer, how do we count how many people want agiven answer? As we said, we need a way to match up questions that referto the same answer.

Here we will explore all these notions a bit more. And we will explainthe basis of how semantic links enable AC to accomplish its task andgoal, in the face of the endless questions reality of natural language.

To see how, we will look at the endless questions reality from the pointof view of Rex's and Sue's main economic goals. These goals are anotherway of looking at AC's goal of making good sales forecasts. That'sbecause the rationale behind AC's main economic goal is to enable Rexand Sue to fulfill their economic goals. In fact, AC's goal of makinggood sales forecasts for answers can be thought of as a shorthand way ofstating Rex's and Sue's goals. So let us discuss those goals.

Rex's Goal of Pooling Demand

The previous discussion—which did not focus on the economics of gettinganswers into AC—emphasized that Rex was looking for an actual answer. Infact, Rex may be looking for a missing answer. Generally speaking, whenhe arrives at a question, he is looking for an answer. If he finds nosatisfactory actual answer at the question, then he is arriving at thequestion in order to express demand for a missing answer.

In doing so, he prefers, if possible, not to be alone. He would ratherpool his demand with as many other Rex's as he can so that:

-   1. there is a greater reward for the answer, leading to a greater    chance in many cases that the answer will be supplied, and,-   2. the cost for the answer, per Rex, will be less, on average.    For example, if Rex wants a weather report for Miami, he would    rather not get a report that is gathered just for him. He would    rather have other Rex's agree to pay for it as well, so as to share    the costs of getting the report.

This goal is fundamental for Rex, and for the economic efficiency of AC,and yet it poses a problem for Rex (and AC). Rex's problem (and AC's) isto find all the other Rex's who want the same answer that he wants. Hemust do this by finding the questions they have asked. In other words,his task is to enter and find questions that not only describe theanswer he wants but that enable him to pool his demand with that ofother people. The problem is that there is no single question, or smallgroup of questions, for stating what he wants, and thus, no singlequestion, or small group of questions, where he can pool demand. What todo then?

Semantic links provide a solution because they enable AC to pool demandby combining demand information from linked questions.

Pooling Demand in Q-Nets

Q-nets—which are made up of sematnically linked questions, ofcourse—enable Rex to pool his demand with other Rex's. One way Rex cando this by asking to be taken to a popular question that matches thecurrent-Q. (As noted, popular can be defined in many ways in AC.) Apopular question may not be in the same Q-net as the current-Q, but wewill assume, for illustration's sake, that it is. Such a question mayhave an actual answer, but we will assume that it does not because theidea of pooling demand is easier to think about if no answer has beensupplied (as discussed in chapter 5, a question with an actual answeralso has a missing answer, so users also pool demand on questions withactual answers).

For example, say Rex has found out, by asking AC, that no question inthe Q-net he is in has a satisfactory answer to the current-Q. Say Rexis at What's it going to do outside in Miami? and only one person onehas been there before. Rex might then ask to be taken to the mostpopular synonym question (one that is linked directly or indirectly bySyn—Syn links to the current-Q). That question might be Weather report,Miami?, which, say, one thousand people have gone to previously. Byintentionally going to this question, he is intentionally pooling hisdemand with that of other people (though he might have other motives aswell).

This kind of straightforward pooling may not be not necessary. Bycausing D-info to be registered at a question that is linked to others,Rex will still be causing D-info to be registered at those questionswhich, according to the semantic links, might describe answers that willsatisfy Rex's current-Q. The D-info of the multiple questions can becombined to yield a POE for “an” answer to any of the questions. Inother words, a Q-net, or a given part of a Q-net, can be thought of as away of collecting demand for an answer.

That is not to say that every question in a Q-net will refer to the sameanswer. Indeed only a tiny fraction of questions might be satisfied bythe same answer. It is up to AC, using semantic links, and other A-statsinformation, to identify which questions might have answers in common.There will not be clear boundaries about which questions refer to thesame satisfactory answer. In large Q-nets, most questions will havenothing to do with one another. Only in sub-parts of a large Q-nets willquestins share common answers. Thus, the principle remains that thedemand for an answer can be pooled in the Q-records of linked questions.

For example, say that Rex arrives at Weather report, Miami? in the toyQ-net above. D-info registered at this question can registered at everyquestion in the Q-net—at least in our toy example. (Normally, we cannotsay exactly how many other questions the D-info will be registered at.)

More precisely we should say that D-info that has been registered at Qxcan be registered at any other Qy in the Q-net, should the need arise tocalculate a POE at Qy. We cannot say, in general, how many Qx's AC willpull D-info from, or how AC will combine the D-info from the Qx's butthat is not our point here. The point is just that AC can combine D-infofrom linked questions, provided AC thinks that Rex's who arrive at thoselinked Qx's will buy an answer that is supplied to Qy.

Thus, if Sue is at Qy and wants to know the POE at that question, AC canpull D-info from Qx. For example, if Sue is at NWS report for Miami?, ACcan give her a POE based on D-info from Weather report, Miami? and fromthe other questions in the Q-net. D-info from Weather report, Miami? canbe used at NWS report for Miami? because if Rex is at Weather report,Miami? he may get a satisfactory answer that is a direct answer to NWSreport for Miami?.

As can be seen above, while demand is combined from multiple questions,it is still expressed at individual questions. In other words, Sue mustcheck POE's at individual questions. (AC may enable here to selectmultiple questions at once and ask for a combined POE. Still, the basisfor the POE's is individual questions.)

The example above is a little misleading in the sense that it may givethe impression that all linked questions will show the same POE. Inpractice, questions in a Q-net will usually have different combineddemand, different POE's. It depends on the questions and the linksinvolved. The situations are highly variable, and D-info can be combinedin innumerable ways, depending on numerous factors. The matter is takenup further in chapter 25.

(Note: we do not want to give the impression that D-info is onlycombined for questions that are in the same Q-net. AC will combineD-info of Qx and Qy whenever it thinks that a Rex who is at Qx might getan answer from Qy. It does not matter if these two questions are in thesame Q-net. However, Q-nets provide a direct way for AC to guess that aRex at Qx will get a direct answer to Qy.)

Digression on the Importance of Linking Questions Indirectly

Indirect links allow for a vast number of questions to be related toeach other with respect whether they have answers in common. AC can thenidentify whether two questions might share the same answers, even thoughthose questions are separated by many links. The importance of theseconnections should not be underestimated: they allow large numbers ofpeople, with AC's help, to identify common wants—whether a want is foran answer, a product, or an action (by a person or a group).

Another word for a want is a goal. With AC's help, then, people can uselinked questions to identify common goals, and figure out (project,guess) how much they are collectively willing to pay, in the present andfuture, for getting those goals.

The reliability of combined D-info depends on the questions and linksinvolved, and on the number of links separating questions. For example,if two questions are separated by fifty Syn—Syn links, those twoquestions may not even be synonyms of each other. But then again, vastnumbers of questions may be linked much more closely. There will oftendevelop questions that have numerous other questions feeding into them,which can happen especially when a question has a good actual answer.Thus a million questions may be separated by only two or three links.For example, AC might connect millions of questions to National WeatherService Report, Miami?, which we might assume has a weather report thathas proven to be satisfactory to millions of users. Each question linkeddirectly to this “hub” question is separated from another by only twolinks, the link that each has with the hub.

Of course we are just giving an example. Regardless of the number oflinks separating questions, the point is that indirect semantic linkagesare a fundamental way of connecting, melding, matching, collecting,pooling, agglomerating—many words apply—“a” want that numerous peoplehave in common.

We might say that a question entered by a single person represents theidea of “I want+a description of the thing that is wanted.” We might saythat linked questions entered and connected by multiple people representthe idea of “We want+multiple descriptions of the thing wanted.”

Indirect semantic linkages are not necessary for pooling demand. Theyare only necessary, it seems, if natural language is to be used.

Exactly how demand is pooled depends on AC's rules for evaluating thelinks and for combining D-info in Q-records.

Why is this pooling important? Because, in order to have somethingproduced—be it an answer, a physical product, or an action—it is oftennecessary to share costs. Pooling demand is often essential for findingout how many people are willing to share the costs of having somethingproduced, and for showing how much a community wants one thing versusanother.

Sue's Goal of a Good Sales Forecast

Sue's goal is to find out how much she is likely to make for supplying aparticular answer. Now the answer may not be exact, like a singletelephone number. It may be somewhat fuzzy, like a weather report inwhich she is not sure what details to include. But the point is that shehas a certain answer in mind that she is fairly clear on, and she wantsto find out how much she will get for supplying it.

Sue will decide what to provide based on how much she thinks she willmake. For example, in a weather report, she will decide whether toinclude, say, ultraviolet information based on whether she thinks thatincluding that information will be profitable. So her task is toenvision a possible answer to provide. Then she must check the POE forit at a question (or questions) that it satisfies.

Yet if she wants to check the POE for a particular answer, it will notsuffice to see a POE based on demand that is registered from people whohave arrived at just one question. She needs to find out (get a goodprojection of) how many different questions her answer will satisfy, andmore precisely, how many Rex's will buy the answer, and how much eachRex is willing to pay. The way she finds out about all those Rex's isthrough D-info that is registered at all those different questions thather answer fits. So, we are back to the problem of finding out all thequestions her answer will satisfy. Then, the D-info of all thesequestions must be combined in some way by a POF to yield a total POE forher answer. Semantic links provide the basis of a solution to theseproblems.

AC's Solution is to Combine Demand Information from Linked Questions

AC combines D-info from semantically linked questions in order to arriveat a POE for a given answer. To see how this solution can work, we willconsider the toy example of our Q-net of seven questions about theweather in Miami, which we repeat below. We imagine that it is made upof only questions that are linked by Syn—Syn links. For simplicity'ssake, we also assume that none of the questions has had an answersupplied to it.

-   1. Weather report, Miami?-   2. What's the weather going to be like today in Miami?-   3. What's it going to do outside in Miami?-   4. How hot is it going to get in Miami?-   5. What does the weather say today in Miami?-   6. NWS report for Miami?-   7. National Weather Service report for Miami?

In order to see how D-info can be combined, let us first imagine how itcame to be registered, how the Q-net was created. We will imagine thatit was created by three Rex's who we will call Andy, Bill and Cal. Wepicture the growth of the Q-net in FIG. 19 and number each question tosignify when it was entered.

Andy enters Q-1 5201 and AC finds no matches that Andy thinks areadequate, so Andy does not go to a match. Q-1 is therefore isolated inAC. Andy then presses an “Enter Syn-Q” button to signify that the nextquestion is a synonym of the current-Q. Andy then enters Q-2 5202 and AClinks it to Q-1. (Q-2 is now the current-Q.) AC finds no match for Q-2that Andy likes. Andy presses “Enter Syn-Q” again and enters Q-3 5203which gets linked to Q-2. We'll imagine that there is no adequate matchfor Q-3 and that Andy stops, so there is an isolated Q-net of threequestions in AC.

Now Bill enters Q-4 5204 and AC finds no adequate match. Bill thenpresses “Enter Syn-Q” and he enters Q-5 which AC links to Q-4. Now, weimagine that AC shows an adequate match to Q-5 5205 which we imagine isQ-2. Bill thinks the two questions are good synonyms and so he linksthem and he goes to Q-2. He finds that no answer has been supplied inthe Q-net though and so he stops.

Now Cal enters Q-6 5206 and AC finds no adequate match. Cal then presses“Enter Syn-Q” and he enters Q-7 5207 which AC links to Q-6. Now, weimagine that AC shows an adequate match to Q-7 which we imagine is Q-1.Cal thinks the two questions are good synonyms and so he links them andhe goes to Q-1. He finds no answer has been supplied in the Q-net thoughand so he stops.

Now what we have is seven questions linked through Syn—Syn links. We seea total of nine es-requests (recall from chapter 5 that an es-request isone where a user has arrived at a question) because Q-1 and Q-2 havebeen arrived at twice 5208. And finally we see that there are threedifferent Rex's (in the figure, the es-requests that the users' made arerepresented by the first letters of their names).

To combine D-info, AC needs rules for evaluating the D-info. These rulescan have a great variety, so again we simplify drastically. Forillustration's sake we say that AC assumes that the synonyms are“perfect” synonyms which means that the questions are interchangeable.Under this assumption, AC checks all the es-requests to determine thenumber of different Rex's who are responsible for them. AC then basesits POE calculation on the number of different Rex's that have arrivedat the linked questions. AC does not base it POE on the total number ofes-requests because six of the es-requests are double counting. Theysimply signify that the Rex's have asked more than one question lookingfor the same answer.

So, in order to calculate a POE at a given question—the POE for ananswer to that question—AC not only uses the D-info registered at thatquestion but also the D-info from linked questions. Therefore, if Sue isat, say, Q-3, she gets a POE based on three Rex's, even though only oneRex 5209 has arrived at Q-3. This count works because we have assumedthat the questions are interchangeable. If a Rex is at any of thequestions, he will be satisfied with Sue's answer to Q-3 (presuming heranswer is a satisfactory answer to Q-3 according to Rex). Moreover, hewill be able to find her answer from any of the linked questions. Thus,Sue can reasonably expect to have sales based on the demand expressed bythree Rex's and not just one.

Now that is the basic idea, but of course, the situation is morecomplicated in practice since questions are not exactly interchangeable.In chapter 25, we discuss some of the complications that arise.

Another Digression on the Importance of Linking Questions Indirectly

As discussed, linking questions indirectly is crucial because it allowsAC to “combine D-info” about potential customers. Where natural languagequestions are concerned, linking questions is crucial for another reasonas well: it allows Sue to see the competition—in other words, it allowsher to identify answers that are alternatives to her answer.

By competition we mean actual answers and potential answers. We willexplain in chapter 25 how AC can use semantic links to let Sue see thecompetition. For now, the point is that indirect linking of questionsenables Sue to do so.

Sue needs to see the competition in order to see if her answer is betterthan the competition. She needs to see the competition to find out ifher answer will sell enough to justify her time in getting and providingit. Thus, identifying the competition is fundamental for Sue, and forthe economic efficiency of AC. From AC's point of view, the goal is toenable Sue to make as high a return as is economically efficient (thoughwe cannot define efficiency well). Another way of putting it is thatAC's goal is to reduce the duplication of efforts by its users. Asdiscussed, this goal is hard to define well, yet it is still a centralgoal. Obviously, in order to reduce the duplication of efforts,suppliers need to be able to identify the competition. These mattershave been discussed in chapters 8 and 14.

There is a second critical reason for identifying the competition: Sueneeds to see whether she will have to share royalties with anotheranswer (or answers)—whether she will have to pay to use or build upon anexisting answer. As discussed, how much she will make depends on howmuch she has to pay to other answers.

Chapter 23 Kinds of Semantic Links Between Questions

In this chapter we describe various kinds of semantic relationshipsbetween questions that can be of use in AC, in the form of semanticlinks. We cannot precisely define any of these relationships. And wecannot be exhaustive; other useful relationships exist betweenquestions, of course.

The relationships given here are useful for different reasons, as isbest seen from looking at the relationships themselves. The basicrationale behind them all was given in the chapter 22.

All the operations for making the links described below are directlyanalogous to those described for LS-Q's and MS-Q's in chapter 21. Whilethe meaning of the links is different, the mechanics of linking remainthe same. The mechanics of linking were also elaborated on in chapter22, in the discussion of the growth of Q-nets.

Two questions can be linked by more than one link. That's because mostof the links are not mutually exclusive. And it's because people maythink different links are appropriate between two questions.

A Less Specific Question to a More Specific Question (LS-MS Link)

We have already discussed this relationship between questions.

A Synonym Question to a Synonym Question (Syn—Syn Link)

In this relationship, two questions are meant to describe the “same”answer, the same set of satisfactory answers. For example,

-   Synonym Q: Who wrote “Can't Buy Me Love”?-   Synonym Q: What group wrote the song “Can't Buy Me Love”?

AC can enable users to grade synonym questions (Syn-Q's) according tohow similar their answers are supposed to be. There might, for example,be two kinds of synonyms distinguished, a close synonym and a loosesynonym.

A close synonym is one where a question is supposed to ask for the verysame answer, or very close to the same answer as another question. Forexample, the two questions above might be considered close synonyms.

A loose synonym is one where a question is meant to ask for “roughly”the same answer as another. For example,

-   Loose Synonym Q: Why is it easier to balance on a bike when you are    moving than when you are standing still?-   Loose Synonym Q: How does balancing on a bike work?-   Loose Synonym Q: Why do pennies stay up on their edge when they are    rolling but fall over when they slow down?

Having at least two different kinds of synonyms seems useful because ofthe way that people ask for answers. Sometimes were are really trying tomake as close a paraphrase as we can. Other times we are just trying toget the “same” general request across.

What, again, does same mean? Well, when we make a list of Syn-Q's, wesee that there is no such thing as the exact same. We might say we “havein mind” the same answer, yet if we look at the Syn-Q's and what theydescribe, we realize that there is no same answer that they describe;there is only a variety of satisfactory answers that we call “similar”or “very similar,” or “the same”. All these terms in quotes are verbaldodges that allow us to avoid speaking about our lack of understandingabout how we refer to things. We do have some understanding, of course,it just isn't very clear or explainable.

As a practical matter, since we do not have any clear way of grading thesimilarity (sameness) of answers, it is the habits of users that willdetermine whether any grading of Syn-Q's is useful or not.

A Less Complete Question to a More Complete Question (LC-MC Link)

Two questions can have relationship where an answer to one, the morecomplete question (MC-Q), is supposed to always answer the other, theless complete question (LC-Q), but an answer to the less completequestion is not always supposed to answer the more complete question.

This relationship sounds like the LS-Q to MS-Q relationship of chapter21. Indeed, an LC-Q can be less specific than an MC-Q, but it is notnecessarily the case. That is because in the LC-Q to MC-Q relationship,the content of the two questions does not have to match, as it does inthe LS-Q to MS-Q relationship. The more complete question does notnecessarily add information to the less complete question. Superficiallythe two questions may not even seem to be about the same things. Theuser must recognize that the more complete question describes asituation that somehow can answer the less complete question. Theexamples below demonstrate.

-   Less Complete Q: Did Elvis write “Can't Buy Me Love”?-   More Complete Q: Who wrote “Can't Buy Me Love”?-   Less Complete Q: Is Johnny in the class?-   More Complete Q: What's a list of all the students in the class?-   Less Complete Q: How far is it to Chicago from Washington?-   More Complete Q: Let me see a Rand McNally roadmap of the United    States?-   Less Complete Q: Is Paris the capital of France?-   More Complete Q: What does the Encyclopedia Brittanica say about    Paris, France?-   Less Complete Q: Is it vegetable, animal or mineral?-   More Complete Q: What is it?-   Less Complete Q: What's the hypotenuse of a right triangle with    sides of 2 and 3?-   More Complete Q: What's the formula for finding the hypotenuse of a    right triangle, given the two sides?-   Less Complete Q: What is the sum of the angles of a triangle?-   More Complete Q: What are the main differences between Euclidean and    non-Euclidean geometry?-   Less Complete Q: Whose side were the French on in the Civil War?-   More Complete Q: Who were the allies of the North and South in the    Civil War?    A Related Question to a Related Question (Rel—Rel Link)

All the semantic links in this chapter tell about some relationshipbetween two questions. These are general relationships in that theyoccur frequently between pairs of questions that we ask. For example,one question might be more specific than another. Because we understandthe general idea behind such semantic relationships, we can see that ananswer to one question might be an answer to another. The names given tothe relationships are meant to describe the ideas behind therelationships, very briefly. The names are supposed to imply why theanswers to one question are related to the answers of another.

There are many cases where we cannot describe the semantic relationshipbetween two questions briefly except to say that the answer to onequestion might answer another. In these cases, we use the poor name,Related Question to Related Question. The corresponding link we call aRel—Rel link. A Rel—Rel link signifies that we cannot briefly andgenerally imply why the answer to one question might answer anotherquestion, yet that we can recognize the possibility. Examples of pairsof Rel—Rel questions, such as those below, demonstrate.

It is important to note that with Rel—Rel links, as with certain othersemantic links, the relationship between two questions can be “one-way”in that the answer to one question might answer the other question butusually not vice versa. AC can enable the user to indicate whether therelationship is one way. For example in the first pair of questionsbelow, the name of the restaurant may give away the kind food that therestaurant serves, but the kind of food the restaurant serves usuallywill not give away the name of the restaurant.

-   Related Q: What's the name of that restaurant on Willow Street?-   Related Q: What kind of food does that restaurant on Willow Street    serve?-   Related Q: What's on the menu of John's Pizza?-   Related Q: How much is a pizza at John's Pizza?-   Related Q: Why should you correct your posture?-   Related Q: What does bad posture do to you?-   Related Q: Where can you get hologram stickers in the U.S.?-   Related Q: Who sells high security stickers in the U.S.?-   Related Q: How does a lawnmower engine work?-   Related Q: How does an internal combustion engine work?-   Related Q: Why is it easier to balance on a tightrope when you're    walking than when you're standing?-   Related Q: Why is it easier to balance on a moving bike than on a    stationary one?-   Related Q: What kind of sunglasses block UV rays best?-   Related Q: How can you find out how well different sunglasses block    UV rays?-   Related Q: What actor has created lots of cool roles like Lenny and    Ratso Rizzo?,-   Related Q: What actor starred in The Graduate and Marathon Man?    A Full Question to a Partial Question (Full-Partial Link)

Two questions can have a relationship were the answer to one question,the “partial” question, gives part of the answer to another, the “full”question.

Many times when we ask a question, we want more of an answer than wewill get. Conversely, many times when we try to provide an answer, wecan only give a partial response. The link between a “partial” questionand a “full” question can be helpful in showing users what answer toexpect from a linked question. We might say that the answer to thepartial question is a partially satisfying answer.

As will be further discussed in chapter 24, this link is especiallyuseful where Sue sees a question and realizes she can only supply partof the answer. So she enters a new question, supplies her answer to thenew question and then links the new, “partial” question to the existing“full” question. For example, the full question might be Why do you getheart disease?. Sue might enter, One big reason you get heart disease?,link it as a partial question to the full question, and then enter heranswer to the partial question. Some more examples of full-Q's topartial-Q's are:

-   Full Q: What a good and cheap restaurant?-   Partial Q: What's a cheap restaurant?-   Full Q: What's the architect's floor plan of this Home Depot?-   Partial Q: What's a rough sketch of how this Home Depot is laid out?-   Full Q: How do you get to Gary, Ind. from New York City?-   Partial Q: How do you get to Indiana from New York City?-   Full Q: What phone numbers can Thor be found at?-   Partial Q: What's Thor's office number?-   Full Q: How do you make a chocolate chip cookie?-   Partial Q: What are the ingredients of a chocolate chip cookie?-   Full Q: Who are our ten largest trading partners?-   Partial Q: Who are three of our largest trading partners?-   Full-Q: Where can I buy laser cutting tools?-   Partial-Q: What's one directory where you might find sellers of    laser cutting tools?-   Full-Q: How do you set up a company officially to do business in the    U.S.?-   Partial-Q: A checklist for incorporating your business in the U.S.?    Special Case Question to General Case Question (Spec-Gen Link)

Somehow the brain can abstract from example cases a pattern that isgeneral, that applies to innumerable, similar examples. We sometimescall the examples special cases. We sometimes call the general patternthe general case.

Two questions can have a relationship where one question describes aspecial case answer and the other describes a general case answer.Because the general case can often imply the specific case, an answer tothe general case question can often answer the specific case question.It is also possible that the answer to the specific case question willanswer the general case question as well, because a person may give ageneral answer to the specific case question.

(In the world of pure logic, the general case solution may automaticallyanswer the special case question. However, in the real world ofquestions and answers logic only works sometimes. Therefore, we say thatthe answer to the general case question may answer the special casequestion.)

We call a special case question a Spec-Q and a general case question aGen-Q. We call the link between them a Spec-Gen link. Since we oftenmove back and forth from general case to specific case when we askquestions, a Spec-Gen link between questions can be useful. Someexamples below demonstrate.

-   Special Case Q: What's the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides    of 2 and 3?-   General Case: What's the formula for finding the hypotenuse of a    right triangle, given the two sides?-   Special Case Q: How can we stop burglary?-   General Case: How can we stop crime?-   Special Case Q: How do people become cocaine addicts?-   General Case: How do people become addicted to things?-   Special Case Q: How can you balance on a bike?-   General Case: What is the physics involved in balancing yourself    while moving?-   Special Case Q: What causes leukemia?-   General Case: What causes cancer?-   Special Case Q: Where can I get a chair?-   General Case: Where can I get furniture for my apartment?    A Goal Question to Sub-Goal Question (G-g Link)

As discussed in chapter 4, questions can be thought of as goals. And weknow that often we cannot get directly to a goal, we may have to get toa sub-goal first. Two questions can have a relationship where the answerto one describes how to get to a goal, and the answer to the otherdescribes how to get to a sub-goal of that goal. A sub-goal answer mightbe wanted by someone looking for larger goal answer. And a sub-goalanswer may be all that someone can supply. Thus a Goal to Sub-Goal (G-g)link can be a useful kind of link to have in AC. Some examplesdemonstrate.

-   Goal Q: How do you get to California?-   Sub-Goal: Where can you buy a map to California?-   Goal Q: How can you stop cancer?-   Sub-Goal Q: How can you reach only cancer cells with drugs?-   Goal Q: How can you build a house?-   Sub-Goal Q: How can you build up a foundation for a house?-   Goal Q: How can you build a house?-   Sub-Goal Q: How can you hire an architect?    Match Link

When a user (especially Rex) is at a current-Q and AC shows tentativematches, the user can then select a match and go there. Now, by going toa question, the user does not necessarily mean that the question is agood match.

AC can include an option whereby the user explicitly states that thego-to question is a good match for the current-Q. For example, say Rexenters:

-   Current-Q: Chess results from Kasparov and Deep Blue match?    and AC presents the following three questions as tentative matches,-   Tentative Match: The score between Kasparov and Deep Blue?-   Tentative Match: Summary of the Kasparov versus Deep Blue match?-   Tentative Match: The complete games between Gary Kasparov and Deep    Blue?

Now, say Rex goes to the first match question. He can select it, inorder to go to it, and then hit a Match Link button that AC includes toallow him to confirm that the match is a good one. AC then creates whatwe will call a confirmed match link (match link, for short) between thequestion that was the current-Q and the selected question that hasbecome the new current-Q.

This kind of link helps AC determine what matches to show to otherusers. In other words, match links enable humans to validate orinvalidate AC's match choices, which can then help AC pick futurechoices.

(Recall from the previous chapter that, regardless of whether a userconfirms a match with a match link, AC can use traveling information toregister user preferences for the future presentation of matches.)

A match link is like a Syn—Syn link, but a better way of thinking aboutit is simply that the two questions that Rex links are good matches,according to that Rex, at the time he is making the link. Here we meangood matches in the sense of AC's goal of selecting matches that Rexmost wants to see, not just synonyms. Match links can help in thatrespect, and should not be thought of as narrowly as synonyms.

Rex might not even think that two match questions are synonyms. Thequestion he goes to might be a better one than he thought of originally.The idea behind the link is that the go-to question describes an answerthat Rex wants which is similar to the answer described by the previousquestion he was at. For example, taking the chess questions above, Rexmight have wanted originally just to know the score between Kasparov andDeep Blue, but seeing the second question, he might have decided that asummary of the match is a better answer, the answer he really wantsafter all.

AC can enable users to grade matches on a scale, say 1-10, or it mighthave a palette of fewer classifications such as: Great Match, AdequateMatch and Poor Match.

(Note: Where the making of match links is concerned, a user does nothave as many options as with other links because match links are madewhen a user travels from one question to another. It is, of course,possible for AC to enable users to make match links at any time, betweenany two questions on screen.)

Rephrase Link

Searching for an answer, Rex will often enter various questions thatmight correspond to the “same” answer, or some of the same answers. Hemight not specify the relationship between two such questions except tosay that they are both entered in pursuit of the same answer. AC canenable him to do this by hitting a “Rephrase” button before entering anew question. This command signifies that the new question to be enteredis a rephrase of the previous question entered. The system can thencreate a rephrase link between the two questions. The user may furtherspecify the relationship between the two questions later. Or he may notand the link would remain to identify the questions as rephrases of eachother.

The advantage of a rephrase link is that it is easier, while pursuing ananswer or a set of related answers, to hit the Rephrase button ratherthan think about each question's relationship to the previous questionasked.

The rephrase link enables Rex to make a mini-net easily (mini-nets werediscussed in chapter 22). The mini-net can then be joined to a largerQ-net. While other users can ask to see the rephrase questions linked toa given question, the main value of a rephrase link is to enable thequick construction of mini-nets which can then be connected to largerQ-nets and used to feed into those larger Q-nets. Thus, rephrasequestions can enable other users to find their way into the largerQ-net, presuming that one of the rephrase questions is found and matchedby other users.

To illustrate, we will assume that Rex enters the following questionsand that, after each, AC shows no matches that Rex likes, until the lastquestion is entered. Each time he sees no match he likes, he enters aRephrase command and enters another question:

-   Q-1: Why is it easier to balance on a moving bike than on a    stationary one?    Rex presses Rephrase and AC links the next question with the    previous one,-   Q-2: Why does a penny stand up while it's rolling but then falls    down as it slows down ?    Rex presses Rephrase and AC links the next question with the    previous one,-   Q-3: Why can a tightrope walker balance more easily while walking    than standing?    Rex presses Rephrase and AC links the next question with the    previous one,-   Q-4: What about hopping, why is it easier to stay up when you're    hopping on one foot than when you're standing still?    Rex presses Rephrase and AC links the next question with the    previous one,-   Q-5: What's the general theory of balancing while moving?    Rex presses the Rephrase and AC links the next question with the    previous one,-   Q-6: The physics of balancing on a bike?    Now, we imagine, AC shows a match that Rex likes, say, Balancing on    a bike explained?, and he goes to this question, which might be part    of a large Q-net.

The result of all these questions and rephrase links is that Rex hascreated a six question mini-net, a mini Q-chain. Now, Rex goes to thematch question he likes which, we imagine, is part of a larger Q-net. ACdoes not automatically link the mini-net with the larger Q-net; itenables Rex to create a link. For example, Rex can make a Syn—Syn linkbetween the last question he entered and the go-to question.

Even if Rex does not make a link, AC still would register that Rex wentto the go-to question from the last question Rex entered, Q-6.Registering this fact predisposes AC to showing Q-6 as a match forBalancing on a bike explained? and further, tells AC that other usersmight want to travel along the same path. In fact, as far as showingmatches, AC might weigh traveling information more heavily than explicitlinks made by users. As noted, how the information is weighed depends onrules that will evolve from experience.

Now, imagine that another Rex enters a question that matches a questionin the mini-net. Because of the explicit link, and/or travelinginformation, between the mini-net and the larger Q-net, this other Rexcan also gain access to the larger Q-net.

(Note: Where the making of rephrase links is concerned, a user does nothave as many options as with other links because rephrase links are madewhen a user enters a new question and wants to link it to the previousone. It is, of course, possible for AC to enable users to make rephraselinks at any time, between any two questions on screen.)

Aside on the Prevention of Double Counting

A brief aside is in order about another important use for the linksdiscussed. These links, especially the rephrase and Syn—Syn links, areimportant for preventing the double counting of requests. If Rex asks,say, ten questions and links them all with a Syn—Syn links, AC canevaluate those request as a single request for an answer. That's becauseRex is really only looking for one answer. But, if Rex enters thesequestions separately, so that they are not linked, AC may think that Rexhas made ten requests for ten different answers, which can lead to falserequest counts.

If Rex has not connected his questions, other people might. So AC canuse links that other people make to identify where Rex may have mademore than one request for the same answer. Generally, where AC detectsthat two questions are for the same answer, AC will only count onerequest per Rex who has arrived at those questions, even though a givenRex may have arrived at more than one of those questions.

But this general idea is crude. How to combine D-info is a subtleproblem. The topic is taken up further in chapter 27, and even there itis treated superficially. To repeat, the combining of D-info willrequire rules based on experience, not just analysis. The point here isjust that AC uses semantic links not only for adding up requests fromdifferent questions, but also for preventing falsely inflated requestcounts.

Drawing of Some Screen Options for Making Semantic Links

As shown in FIG. 20 in addition to enabling users to enter MS-Q's AC caninclude options for entering and designating:

-   Less Specific Questions 5470-   Synonymous Questions 5471-   More Complete Questions 5472-   Less Complete Questions 5473-   Related Questions 5474.-   Rephrase Questions 5475

(Note, buttons for designating the other semantic relationshipsdescribed in this chapter are not shown because the figure was drawn forCIP 2. Obviously, AC can include more buttons on screen for designatingthe other semantic links described.)

Chapter 24 Actual Answer Links

Just as AC can enable users to create semantic links between questions,it can enable users to create semantic links between actual answers. Wewill call these actual answer links (A-A links). They are a kind ofA-A-stats and so are recorded in Q-A-records. They are created inbetween Q-A-locations.

While Q links compare descriptions of answers, A-A links compare actualanswers themselves. In other words, while Q links refer to missing andactual answers, A-A links only refer to particular pairs of actualanswers.

A-A links are directly analogous to Q links and share many of the samecharacteristics. They both name semantic relationships. They both havetwo directions. They both can be looked at as probabilistic screens(though A-A links would generally be more reliable because they refer toparticular answers rather than potential answers). They both are used tocombine D-info to yield POE's for answers.

All the semantic relationships and links described in the previouschapter, except the Rephrase relationship and link, have correspondingA-A relationships and A-A links. For example: synonym answer to synonymanswer, less specific answer to more specific answer, and less completeanswer to more complete answer. The relationships that are the same asthose between questions are the first category of relationships betweenactual answers. There are two more useful categories.

Negations of Relationships Between Questions

The relationship between two actual answers may be different from thatdescribed by the Q link, if any, between the direct questions to thoseactual answers. Two questions might be linked as, say, synonyms yettheir actual answers might be very different. For example, How long isGone With the Wind? and What's the length of Gone With the Wind? mightbe linked as synonyms, and yet, their actual answers might be, The movieis three hours long, and, The book is five hundred pages long. Theseanswers would not be synonyms. The questions would have been interpreteddifferently by different Sue's. Thus negation links, such as “not asynonym”, can be useful. Each link in the first category above has acorresponding negation.

It should be noted that an A-A link that differs from a Q link does notnullify the Q link; the A-A link simply describes the relationshipbetween two actual answers to two questions, while the Q-link stilldescribes the relationship between potential answers to the twoquestions.

(Note: Semantic relationships between questions also have negations butthey are not, generally, as useful as are those that refer to actualanswers.)

Quality Comparison Links

Another category of semantic relationships has to do with qualitycomparisons. AC can enable users to make A-A links that compare thequality of two actual answers. Innumerable quality comparison arepossible. Better, worse, more verified, newer, improved, better written,more up-to-date, higher probability of being true, and so on. A qualitycomparison link would normally be made by Sue who wants to compare heranswer to another answer, though Rex could make one as well. AC wouldinclude standard names for quality comparison links, and would alsoenable users to enter custom descriptions that compare two answers.

Quality comparisons include those that describe a difference, a change,from one answer to another. As discussed in section 5.2i, AC can enableusers to label the differences between two direct answers to the samequestion. Users can do the same thing in comparing two answers todifferent questions by using an A-A link. The link can tell how oneanswer differs from another.

It should be noted that as long as the direct questions of two actualanswers are linked, AC itself can use quality statistics in theQ-A-records to compare the actual answers. Still, explicit A-A linksabout how two answers compare can be useful and allow comparisons thatusers draw themselves between two actual answers.

(Note: Quality assertions represented in A-A links are one way to give anew answer an opportunity to compete with an “entrenched answer.” Suecan link her new answer's Q-A-location to an existing answer'sQ-A-location and assert in various ways that her answer is better. Suchassertions can be described in an A-A link.)

Mechanics of Linking Actual Answers

To link Q-A-locations, a user needs to identify the Q-A-locations. Aconvenient way is for a user to be at one Q-A-location, and then go to,or create, another and then link the current Q-A-location to theprevious Q-A-location. AC can enable users to link Q-A-locations in thisway.

In order to see actual answers that are linked to a given Q-A-location,a user must be at the Q-A-location or must be seeing an actual answer.Either way, AC can enable the user to call up A-A links, which can thenbe used to go to other Q-A locations or to get the corresponding answersthemselves.

Using A-A-Links

Users and AC use A-A-links for traveling and searching, just as they canuse Q links. Of course, an A-A link will lead to a Q-A-location ratherthan just a Q-location.

Confirming or Rejecting a Link

AC can enable users to confirm of reject (challenge) an A-A link. Thesame goes for the other kinds of links described below.

Question to Answer Links (Q-A Links)

Another distinct category of semantic links are links between a questionand an actual answer—between a Q-location and a Q-A-location. We mightcall such links question-answer links (Q-A links).

The important links here are those that negate, or differ, from what issaid in a Q link. That is because, as noted, an actual answer might nothave the relationship to an indirect question that has been described bythe Q link between the answer's direct question and the indirectquestion. As discussed, while a Q link may reasonably describe therelationship between potential answers, an actual answer itself may bedifferent than expected or hoped for.

For example, say

-   Q-1: What kind of food does that restaurant on Willow Street serve?    is linked by a Rel—Rel link to-   Q-2: What's the name of that restaurant on Willow Street?    And say, Q-1 has no answer and Q-2 has the following answer:    Kramerbooks.

Now, this answer may reveal to some people what food the restaurantserves, but may not reveal anything to other people. And so, for somepeople, the answer to Q-2 will not answer Q-1. Someone going from Q-1 toQ-2 who is therefore disappointed by the Rel—Rel link can enter anegation link (a link that tells someone at Q-1 that the answer to Q-2will not satisfy Q-1).

Thus, as with A-A links that are negations, a Q-A negation link canprevent Rex and AC from using a misleading Q link. A negation blockspeople at Q-1 from getting a particular answer at Q-2, or from going toQ-2 because of that answer. (Other answers, if any, at Q-2 may besatisfactory).

However, it should be noted that negation links do not block travel withcertainty. Just because one person has entered a negation link does notmean that others will agree with it. Other people may be satisfied bywhat a Q link has described. And AC will register, in various ways, thesatisfaction of these travelers. As with other links, then, a negationlink is one factor that can be used to set match probabilities in agiven direction of travel. As with all semantic links, a negation linkis a clue that AC uses to help Rex find the questions and answers thatwill satisfy him best.

Answer to Question Links (A-Q Links)

Another distinct category of semantic links are links between actualanswers and questions—between a Q-A-location and a Q-location. We mightcall such links answer-question links (A-Q links). These can be usefulbecause an actual answer can naturally lead to a question. In the nextchapter we will see an example of a follow link that connects an actualanswer with a follow-up question. Here we only describe one example: animprovement request link that connects an actual answer with a questionthat describes an improvement.

As discussed in chapter 6, Rex can enter an improvement request that ispart of a given question yet is not a question of its own.

Alternatively, Rex can enter an improvement request that is a question.One way Rex can do this is to be at a question, see an answer, bedissatisfied and then enter an MS-Q to the current-Q, the MS-Qdescribing the improved answer Rex wants. Another way is for Rex toenter a synonym question that describes the improved answer he wants.

Yet if Rex doesn't want a full new answer but just a “piece” added to anexisting actual answer, then he can ask a question for that piece. Forexample, if a question is Weather report, Miami? and the actual answeris a weather report that does not include a UV index, Rex might besatisfied with the answer except that he wants to know the UV index. Andso, AC can enable him to enter a question asking for the UV index andlink that question by an improvement request link to the actual answer(to the Q-A-location of the actual answer).

UV index for Miami? will be an individual question in AC with its ownQ-record. At the same time, users who get the direct answer to Weatherreport, Miami? can see additional questions—such as UV index forMiami?—that are linked by improvement request links. Users can then goto these, and also supply answers to these. The answers to the linkedquestions will have their own POE's.

Having separate questions for improvement requests can make it easier tocalculate POE's.

(A user can, of course, incorporate an improvement answer within theanswer it improves upon to make a new actual answer.)

Chapter 25 Combining Demand Information

How Much Will an Answer Sell?

In the previous chapter we were interested in matching up questions,based on the idea that the answer to one question might also be asatisfactory answer to a directly or indirectly linked question. Here weare interested in something else in addition to whether an answer willsatisfy a question; we are interested in how much the answer will sell.

Assume a potential supplier (for convenience, we will call the user justSue) is at a question in a Q-net. And assume Sue wants to see the POEfor the answer to this question. The problem is: how can AC combine theD-info from the Q-records of the questions in the Q-net to arrive at areasonably accurate POE.

(We'll call the question that Sue is at a check question because she ischecking the POE at that point in the Q-net.)

Let us pose the problem in a more simplified way. Given a checkquestion, Q1, linked to another question, Q2, what does a request at Q2foretell for the sales of the answer to Q1?

Normally a check question will be in a large Q-net, not just a twoquestion Q-net. So the real problem is what does the D-info in theQ-records of a large set of linked questions foretell for sales of theanswer to the check question.

Because we are dealing with numerous questions—quite possibly thousandsor millions in a Q-net—certain important problems arise in calculatingthe POE for the answer that Sue potentially intends to supply to thecheck question. We will list three key problems and then give sometechniques for dealing with each.

-   1. Which questions will Sue's answer satisfy?-   2. For which questions, and which Rex's, will Sue's answer be the    best answer?-   3. What percentage of the answer's royalties will Sue have to share    with other Sue's.

These three questions are critical for arriving at a reasonable POE.Sue's answer not only has to satisfy multiple questions (satisfy somefraction of the Rex's who asked those questions, that is) but her answermust also be better than the alternatives that the Rex's have. Moreover,her POE depends critically on whether she will owe some other Sue(s)royalty credit based on the copy/credit rules (the property rights) ofAC.

(Note: At times the emphasis in this chapter will be on projecting thesales of potential answers, yet just about every point made applies toprojecting the sales of actual answers as well.)

Rules for Combining the D-Info of Linked Questions

Metaphorically, we might think of a question location as a movietheater, a question as the movie title on the marquis, a Q-record as thebox office, and an answer as a movie. More often than not, the moviewon't even be showing, it will be a potential movie. For this metaphor,let's assume that no movie is actually showing. Now, when a patron showsup at the theater, he drops a metaphorical ticket into the box office.In this special theater, the tickets are actually questionnaires abouthow much patrons are willing to pay for the movie. The robot tickettaker will automatically fill out some of a ticket and the patron willalso fill out some of the ticket. Our problem is, how does AC projectthe sales of a given movie by combining the ticket information fromnumerous, linked box offices of different theaters that are showing, orpotentially showing, movies with different titles.

As an illustration, FIG. 21 shows a Q-net of nine questions. “Boxoffices” are pictured as boxes in the middle of the circles thatrepresent questions. The problem is to figure out what the “box office”information at one question, say, Weather Report for Miami? 5500 willforetell for the sales of an answer to another question, say, NationalWeather Service Report, Miami, 100 Words? 5501.

When we say that AC “combines” D-info from different Q-records, we meanthat a POF uses D-info from the Q-records of multiple, linked questions.Now that is not telling anything about how a POF might use the D-infocollected from different questions. Still we can't say many specificthings about how a POF combines D-info.

We can make certain generalizations. For example, we can say that a POFwould use request information on a probabilistic basis. But that is trueregardless of whether the D-info comes from a check question or from alinked question. We can say that a POF would include rules for cancelingphantom requests, where a user has arrived at numerous linked questionsbut only wants one answer. But such generalizations don't tell much. Thefact is that POF's for Q-nets—POF's for combining D-info from variousquestions—have not been invented yet.

So, in this chapter we will not be focusing on POF's, but on how Sue canhelp AC to arrive at POE's for answers to questions in a Q-net.

Sue's Feedback Can be Crucial

The main message of this chapter is that Sue's feedback can be crucialin helping AC arrive at a POE for Sue's answer. How so? Well, to solvethe three problems above, Sue's human knowledge can be critical.

(In Chapter 9, we discussed Sue's role in adjusting values in a POF.Here we are talking about feedback that applies to Q-nets.)

Recall, AC does not know that Sue's answer will satisfy a givenquestion. AC makes a probability judgment based on averages from largestatistical samples. But Sue's answer is a particular answer and she cantell better than AC whether her answer will satisfy particularquestions. And so, AC can enlist Sue's help in evaluating whether heranswer will actually satisfy the questions in the Q-net that AC guessesit will satisfy. Sue's judgment will not be perfect of course, becauseshe cannot know how many Rex's her answer will satisfy ultimately, yether judgment should, on average, be better than AC's.

Moreover, Sue's knowledge will usually be better than AC's in judgingwhether her answer is better than competing answers, especiallycompeting actual answers.

Let us first consider Sue's role in solving problem 1 above, the problemof evaluating how many questions her answer will satisfy.

Having Sue Sample a Q-Net

Sue cannot check every question that AC pulls D-info from, the Q-netwill usually be too big. AC usually must show her a sample.

For the sake of illustration, let us imagine that Sue's check questionis in a Q-net made up solely of 10,000 synonym questions. Let us furtherimagine that AC assigns Sue's answer a 50% probability of answering eachindividual question in the Q-net. AC can show Sue a sample of thequestions in this Q-net and ask her what questions she thinks willsatisfied by her answer. She can then mark the questions that she thinksher answer will satisfy—yielding a percentage. AC can then take thispercentage and adjust the probability assumption it has made.

Of course, not all links in a Q-net will be Syn—Syn links. But theprinciple remains. AC uses semantic links to come up with guesses aboutthe probability of an answer satisfying questions, and Sue helps ACadjust those probability guesses.

In showing a sample of a Q-net, AC will probably favor popularquestions. As previously noted, using popular questions is a key way toreduce not only AC's calculation load but the work load of users.

Of course, AC does not assign each question in a Q-net the sameprobability of being satisfied by Sue's answer. AC will assign differingprobabilities to questions based on the semantic links involved and on avariety of factors. Thus, AC can arrange questions in a probabilitydistribution. For example, AC can put questions with a 80-90% chance ofbeing satisfied in a group.

AC can then show Sue questions grouped by probability interval and haveSue say what percentage of each group she thinks will be satisfied.

(AC does not have to present questions grouped by probability intervals.It can present Sue a mixed bag of questions that have widely differentprobabilities assigned to them.)

Regardless of how AC presents a sample or samples to Sue, AC must adjustits probability guesses at various intervals. For example, if AC showsSue a sample of 100 questions that it thinks have a 10% chance of beingsatisfied, and Sue thinks that only 1 of these will be satisfied by heranswer, then AC knows that it has to adjust the its probability estimatefor the interval around 10%, and further that is has pulled D-info fromtoo many questions in a Q-net.

Thus, Sue's feedback not only helps AC adjust its probability estimatesfor the match candidates it picks, but helps AC determine how wide itshould look for match candidates in a Q-net. And so, Sue's feedback canhelp AC solve problem 1 above.

Seeing and Analyzing the Competition

In attacking problems 2 and 3, sampling a Q-net is not as important.Their solution is mostly a matter of seeing the competition. AC needs toshow Sue the most likely competitors to her answer. (Her answer may bepotential or actual.) Sue can then pop back to AC what percentage ofpeople she think will prefer her answer.

To find the competition, AC would employ various methods. Primarily, ACwould search for answers that are good matches for the check question.Among these, AC would show:

-   a. Actual answers that have high POE's.-   b. New actual answers even if they do not have high POE's (an actual    answer might not have a high POE and yet still be an important    competitor).-   c. Missing answers that have high POE's.-   d. Missing answers that are covered by a reservation rights (answers    that people have committed to supplying that is).

(Note: AC might also show preference data that AC can enable Rex's toenter. By preference data we mean that AC can enable Rex's to statepreferences between answers. This point has not been discussedpreviously but it should be noted, as this kind of information can beimportant.)

We can think of the contest between Sue's answer and other answers as acontest between movies. AC keeps track of which movies people go to andwhich movies they prefer to go to, given choices among movies. Thus, ACcan show Sue the main movies that will compete with hers and she canrespond as to how well she thinks her movie will do.

Competitive answers are a critical factor in a POF. AC must have defaultassumptions about how competing answers will steal sales from Sue'sanswer. And yet these assumptions will usually be crude. Although herestimates may be crude as well, it is often better for Sue to adjustthese assumptions, at least where the key competitors are concerned.

Another important factor is the probability that a new, bettercompetitor will arrive at some point in time. While Sue may not have anygood ideas about this, she may have better ideas than AC.

Finally, but not of small importance, is royalty credit. Seeingalternatives, also is necessary from a credit standpoint. Sue must seethe answers she might owe royalty credit to. Linked questions enable Sueto see who she might owe credit to. In addition, if she has entered ananswer, they enable her to spot pirates. AC can alert her when answersare stealing sales ways from her answer. She can then examine thecompeting answers and see whether they owe her credit.

(AC might assume that Sue gets full credit, allowing Sue to lower thatfigure if necessary. As discussed, Sue is the one who needs to assignthe credit. AC cannot figure out whether her answer should includeroyalty citations to another answer.)

Polling Rex's

To help solve problems 1 and 2 above, AC can also enable Sue to poll asample of Rex's directly. She can then solicit their opinions as towhether the answer she is thinking about supplying will satisfy them,and whether they will prefer it to the alternatives. She can, of course,ask Rex's any relevant D-info, such as how much they are willing to payfor her planned answer. She can then use this personally polled D-infoto give AC feedback for calculating a POE.

Chapter 26 Follow Questions, Situation Stations and Elaboration Lists

Quick Recap

Speaking generally, we can say that the purpose of semantic links is toenable people to describe and find answers that they mutually want. Weaccomplish this goal through semantic links in two general ways. One, insome cases we take advantage of the way that people naturally askquestions, for example the fact that they rephrase questions (and so wehave a rephrase link). Two, we enable people to describe a relationshipbetween two questions where that the answer to one question might alsosatisfy the other question, for example, two synonym questions mighthave answers in common.

The point is not to repeat previous material but to say that AC can alsoinclude useful semantic links that describe semantic relationshipsbetween two questions where the questions do not have any answers incommon. We do not mean the negations of relationships already described,we mean that additional semantic relationships exist that can helppeople find answers they mutually want. We will describe one suchrelationship and link below.

Spur Answers to Follow Questions (Spur-Follow Link)

The key, new relationship we have in mind will be called a spur-followrelationship, and the corresponding link will be called a spur-followlink (follow link). A question that follows another question, or followsan answer, will do so through a follow link, and that question will becalled a follow question. The question or answer that it follows will becalled a spur question or spur answer.

The idea of a follow-Q is a familiar one, the more conventional termbeing a follow-up question. In other words, a follow question is asecond question that occurs to someone who asks a first question. Or,perhaps more commonly, it is a question that occurs to someone uponseeing or hearing an answer.

For example, a person might ask, What is the National Weather Servicereport for Miami today? and upon getting the answer might ask afollow-Q, How does the National Weather Service gather its data?

A follow-Q is like any other question in that it can be connected toother questions by any kind of semantic link. It is a follow-Q onlyrelative to a given spur-Q or spur-A. The follow link is simply a newlink that shows that a relationship exists between two questions orbetween an answer and a question. This link is useful because more thanone person who finds an answer might have the same follow-Q occur tohim. Likewise, more than one person who asks a question might have thesame follow-Q occur to him. Thus, a follow link can help people describeand find answers they mutually want.

In order to link two question by a follow link, a user takes the samebasic steps as with linking any other questions. However, it should benoted that a follow-Q is probably more often connected to a Q-A-locationthan a Q-location. In other words, follow-Q's probably follow actualanswers more often than questions. So, when a person sees an answer, hecan press a follow-Q button before entering a question. The questionthat is entered next would then be linked to the Q-A-location for theanswer, and could be called up on screen when anyone sees that answer. AQ-A-location can be connected to any number of follow-Q's.

(Note: AC might not show a list of follow-Q's at a Q-A-location withoutalso showing the answer. The reason is that sometimes the follow-Q willgive away the answer. Further, the follow-Q, if it is spurred by theanswer, will have less context without the answer.)

Using D-Info from a Spur Question's Q-Record

D-info from a spur-Q record, including information about travel on thefollow link, can be useful for estimating the sales of the answer to thefollow-Q. We will call this answer a follow answer, relative to thespur-Q or spur-A. The D-info in the Q-record of a spur-Q is used by aPOF probabilistically to help estimate the sales of a follow answer. Inother words, taking our example above, information about usage of thefollow link, along with D-info in the spur-Q's Q-record, tells AC thatsome percentage of people who want the answer to, What is the NationalWeather Service report for Miami today?, will also want the answer toHow does the National Weather Service gather its data?.

Situation Station

Let us return once more to the question, What is a question?

We have said that a question is a description of an answer. Another wayof looking at a question is to say that a question is a description of asituation plus a description of a “missing” part—the missing part beingthe answer. For example, you may ask, In this large hardware store,where is the bathroom?. This question describes a context, the hardwarestore you are in, and describes an additional part that is wanted, thelocation of the bathroom. Loosely speaking, we might say that a questionis a picture plus a description of a missing part of the picture that iswanted.

The key thing to realize is that an answer does not stand alone. Ananswer fits within a situation that a question describes. We usuallytake this aspect of questions for granted. Questions are often shortbecause we don't have to spell out the context. For example, when we arein a store and we ask an employee, Where's the bathroom?, we don't haveto tell the employee that we mean the bathroom in the store, or that wemean the closest bathroom, or that we mean by foot, or that we mean alot of other things. The question is short, but if we had to spell outall our assumptions the question would become quite long.

(A question is often unclear because it does not give enough context.That is why a more specific question is often needed. An MS-Q providesmore information about context, about a situation. The point is not totake up MS-Q's again, just to see their role from a slightly differentangle.)

Now, some questions require only a little description of context, othersrequire a lot. In normal conversation that is not a problem because two(or more) people build up a context in the conversation, while at thesame time keeping track of the context. That is a great feat ofintelligence.

To save effort, people can, and do, use a trick called pronouns.Questions are kept short by the use of pronouns and by the understandingof the context being discussed. For example, a patient and a doctor canbe discussing the patient's sprained ankle, and they can have aconversation full of questions without repeating the term sprained ankleand without repeating the many circumstances surrounding the sprain.

In AC the whole point is to match up questions and so it is not sosimple to use pronouns. The pronouns in the abbreviated questions mustrefer to some description that AC can match. For example, if a personenters, How long should I rest it?, AC will have no idea that it refersto an ankle with a grade three sprain that has been described bynumerous symptoms. The person will need to enter a description of thesprained ankle in order for AC to find a match. And yet, if a person hasa series of questions about the same context, the same situation, saythe ankle with a grade three sprain, then it is a big nuisance to haveto repeat oneself.

To be user-friendly, AC should not have to make people who ask a seriesof questions about the same situation repeat themselves. In effect, ACshould allow them to use pronouns. How though?

The solution is to split a question into two parts: one a description ofthe situation, and the other a description of the missing part of thesituation, the answer part.

We will call the description of the situation a situation station. Why?Because the idea is that people meet at—travel to, find—a situation andthen branch off to different abbreviated, questions attached to thatsituation. We will call these abbreviated questions by the namesatellite questions. Answers correspond directly to the satellite-Q's,not to situation stations.

Situaton stations can be short or long. We will give an example of abrief one below to illustrate the idea.

Situation Station: I want to start a business selling information onlineand I would like to be able to accept payments by credit card.

Now, a user can attach a number of satellite Q's such as:

-   Who sells the necessary machinery?-   How much does it cost to get set-up?-   How can you get set up within two weeks?-   What kind of credit rating do you need?-   What are some tricks for getting approved?    And so on.

A user would enter a situation station and then press a satellite-Qbutton in order to enter a satellite-Q to be linked to the situationstation. A user could also arrive at an existing a situation station andenter a satellite-Q. Likewise, AC can enable a user at a satellite-Q toenter a new satellite-Q to be linked to the same situation station.

AC can take a user to a situation station just as it can take a user toa question. In order to go to the situation station, the user may entera situation station, or the user may enter a question. The user may ormay not have to specify whether he wants to go to a situation station.He may also identify the situation part of a regular question and ask ACto find the best match. There are no hard and fast rules.

That's because even though a situation station cannot have a directanswer, it is very similar to a question and is treated almost the sameway by AC. Therefore:

1. A situation station is entered like a question, it is stored like aquestion, and it can be found like a question. The satellite questionsattached to a situation station are found by AC using the information inthe situation station. Further, AC can take users either to a situationstation or to a satellite-Q directly.

2. A situation station has a demand record (a record of people who havetraveled to it). This record is not as directly useful as a questionrecord but it can help users to intuitively guess roughly how manypeople might want an answer. For example, if 100,000 people share thesame situation, say a grade three sprained ankle, then they will havemany of the same questions in common. Knowing that 100,000 people havearrived at a situation station, a person might be able to guess that acertain answer pertaining to that situation would be valuable tonumerous people.

(Note, satellite-Q's would have Q-records just like any other questions.A satellite-Q is just an abbreviated question. It includes the situationstation part for the purpose of registering Q-info.)

3. Situation stations can be semantically linked to other situationstations by the same kinds of links that we have described previously.Situation stations can also be connected to questions.

Note: Satellite-Q's can be connected to questions as well. But, while asatellite-Q can be directly connected to a regular question by asemantic link, AC would also show the situation station part of thesatellite-Q when a user travels to the satellite-Q from a linked,regular question.

Questions as Situation Stations

It is important to note that a question itself can be used as asituation station in the sense that it can be used as context for alinked, abbreviated question. AC can have means for letting usersdesignate a question as a situation station relative to a linkedsatellite-Q. For example, say a first question is, What is the best timeto have intercourse, if you want to get pregnant, according to NIH?.Now, a satellite-Q might be, And who says so at NIH?.

(Obviously, this question can be considered a follow-Q as well.Follow-Q's can often be made into satellite-Q's. But not all follow-Q'sare satellite-Q's.)

We saw the idea of a question being used as context for another questionin the discussion of restricted MS-Q. However, the principle is moregeneral and can apply to any question.

A second question that uses the context of a first question can belooked at in two ways. One way is to think of it as an MS-Q. This way isappropriate if the questions are combined in the sense that a user islooking for two answers. For example, combining the two questions abovewe get the single question:

-   What is the best time to have intercourse, if you want to get    pregnant, according to NIH?, and who says so at NIH?    This question is compound question, an MS-Q relative to the first,    less specific question.

Usually, a better way to look at a second question that uses the contextof a first question is not as a compound question. Usually it is betterto look at it as its own abbreviated question, simply as a satellite-Qusing the situation described in the first question. This view seemsmore natural because the second question—Who says so at NIH?, in theexample above—is really looking for one answer. By contrast, a compoundMS-Q is really looking for two answers.

Answers as Situation Stations

As the example above implies, answers can also be used as situationstations, and most conveniently, where follow-Q's are involved. Thus,the answer to, What is the best time to have intercourse, if you want toget pregnant, according to NIH?, can be made a situation station, whichcan then have satellite questions. Say the answer is, The week beforeovulation. A satellite-Q might be, Who says so at NIH?.

(As noted, a follow-Q is not necessarily a satellite-Q. In the caseabove, How do you know when ovulation occurs? would be a follow-Q butnot a satellite-Q.)

Digression on Multimedia Questions and Situations

A question can include audio as well as visual content (a point made byJames Dix). Thus AC can enable users to enter “multi-media” questionsthat include text and sound and visual content. We do not delve intothis possibility except to say that the description of a situation canobviously be enhanced by, or may require, audio or visual content. Andwe also note that the method of semantic links applies o the matching ofmultimedia questions and situations.

Elaboration Lists

Elaboration lists are a simple idea based on the fact that when we ask aquestion we often don't know enough to pose the question well enough toget a good answer. We see this most clearly when we have a conversationwith an expert, say a car mechanic. Imagine that your car has brokendown and you've been told that your head gasket is blown, and you wantto know what to do. So, you ask a question, What should I do now thatthe head gasket is blown on my car?.

Well, to answer this question, a person would need more context. Yoursituation must be built up. Thus an expert, the car mechanic, would askyou a series of questions about the condition of your car. He would askyou to elaborate. The list of conditions might be called an elaborationlist. He might ask you:

-   what the make of your car is,-   how old the car is,-   how many miles it has on it,-   whether the engine block is cracked,-   how much you want to spend on a repair,-   whether you are willing to buy a re-machined replacement part,    and so on.

Normally, in an everyday, real time conversation, your situation isdescribed by a back and forth questioning and answering process. But, ACis not a real-time machine (it can be in special circumstances) wherepeople engage in back and forth conversations. An elaboration listsubstitutes for that conversational process.

An elaboration list that is attached to a question can help a usercreate a more specific question (a more specific situation) from whichthe user can get answers.

AC can enable a user to enter an elaboration list to be linked to aquestion. So then, when Rex is at an initial question, What do I doabout a blown head gasket?, he can call up an elaboration list. Thislist would contain a series of questions that Rex can fill in. Theanswers to those questions can be added to the initial question by Rex.(It is possible to automate the process so that the answers Rex gives tothe elaboration questions are automatically incorporated into hisinitial question.)

Now, why would someone enter an elaboration list? Well, the person whoenters such a list could be paid for the use of the list. A person wouldnormally enter an elaboration list to be linked to a question when thequestion is a popular one. The same elaboration list can be linked toany number of questions.

User's could collaborate in entering the questions in an elaborationlist. That is not really the point here.

The point is that an elaboration list is sort of like a record of aconversation between a person who wants an answer and an “expert”. Theperson will usually ask a question that is too vague and the expert willusually have to ask the person various questions to find out what theperson needs to know. These questions, in effect, can be recorded foruse by others. In this way, a new Rex can easily see what to ask becausesome other Rex has gone through the process of finding out what toask—gone through the process of building up an adequate description ofthe situation he wants an answer about.

Chapter 27 Multi-Lingual Q-Nets

This chapter will be brief. It is about how a Q-net can be used bypeople speaking different languages and about how a Q-net can be made upof questions and answers in multiple languages. The basic ideas aresimple. As in Chapter 15, we will take the case of two languages,English and French, where English is a central language and French isthe language the is being translated into English.

The Central Language Model Applied to Q-Nets

We will first consider how the central language model can be applied toQ-nets. Let us say Rex, a French speaker, is at a question in Q-net thatis made up of English questions. The problem is: How can he travel inthe Q-net when the questions are all English.

The central language model can be applied in basically the same manneras was described in Chapter 15. Let us say Rex is at,

-   What time does the Louvre open?    In fact, he will not be at this question, he will be at the    translation since AC will have presented him a French translation    that he will have selected or confirmed. So, he will be at, say,-   A quelle heure ouvre le Louvre?    Now, let us say that the English question is linked to two MS-Q's:-   What time does the Louvre open on Saturday? and-   What time does the Louvre open on Sunday?

Now, AC simply translates the questions into French and presents them asMS-Q's. Rex can then travel to one of these if he likes. He will findhimself at a French question (that has been translated from theEnglish).

He cannot confirm that the translation is a good one, but the fact thatthe question is an MS-Q can give him a good hint as to whether thetranslation is any good.

The same principle applies, of course, with other kinds of linkedquestions.

Rex can also enter a French question to be linked to an existing Englishquestion. The French question will simply be translated into English,and then stored and then linked to the English question.

Adding a Question in a Suburb Language

Now let us say that English is the central language and that French is asuburb language. The problem then is: How can AC enable Rex to addFrench questions to the Q-net. Again, the solution was in Chapter 15. ACsimply makes translation twins. Thus, when Rex enters a new question inFrench, AC stores it in French but also makes and stores an Englishtranslation.

So, when Rex is at a question in a Q-net, he may be able to go directlyto a question that has been originally entered in French, or he may goto a question that has been translated from the English.

Thus, a Q-net can be built that has questions in multiple languages.

Entering Answers

Just as the ideas of Chapter 15 hold concerning questions, they holdconcerning answers. AC can store an answer in the original language itwas entered and then can translate it into a given language on demand.Further, AC can store multiple language versions of an answer.

Translation Links (Trans—Trans Link)

Where suburb languages are used, another useful semantic link is atranslation link.

This link is analogous to a Syn—Syn link in that it tells that twoquestions in different languages mean the same thing.

Thus a user can be at a question in one language and press a translationlink button, and then enter a translated version of the question. ACwill then link the two questions by a translation link.

A translation links gives AC a direct, human route from a suburblanguage question to a central language question, and vice versa. Thiskind of link can be useful especially where popular questions areconcerned because it is with these that accurate translations can beespecially helpful. (It is presumed that a person will, on average, makea better translation than AC.)

(Translation links can also be used where there is no central language.But we have only briefly described such a model in Book I.)

Of course, translation links can also be made between actual answers,but these are implicit when AC stores different human translatedversions of the same answer.

1. An answer collection and retrieval method comprising the followingsteps performed by an online computer database: a. initially,registering a user's identification information, b. registering user'spreference in supplying or retrieving an answer corresponding to aquestion, upon the inputting of a question, c. if the user prefers tosupply said corresponding answer, looking for said corresponding answerin said database, c1. if corresponding answer is found, outputting amessage telling the user that the answer is already in the database, c2.if no corresponding answer is found, allowing the user to input theanswer, storing the corresponding answer and registering that royaltiesare due to the user when said answer is requested, d. if the userprefers to retrieve an answer corresponding to said question, d1.registering time and date said question is inputted, d2. searching tofind if an answer corresponding to said question is in the database,d2a. if corresponding answer is in the database, outputting the answer,registering a charge due by said user who inputted the question and aroyalty due to the user who supplied the answer, adding one to the tallyof times said question has been asked, d2b. invoking a pay-off formula,said formula using demand information registered about an answer,including the number of times an answer is requested via a question, andthe timestamps of those requests, said formula calculating a pay-offestimate of the amount of money that a supplier of an answer willreceive for supplying that answer, d2c. outputting the pay-off estimateresulting from the pay-off formula calculation, d2d. if no correspondinganswer is in the database, checking if said question is stored in thedatabase, d2d1. if no, storing the question and setting to one the tallyof times said question has been asked, and calculating said pay-offformula, d2d2. if yes, adding one to the tally of times said questionhas been asked, and calculating said pay-off formula, d2d3. outputtingthe resulting pay-off estimate.
 2. The method of claim 1, said methodalso comprising the steps of registering and displaying that a user hasrequested a specified improvement to an answer.
 3. The method of claim1, said method also comprising the steps of registering the sale of ananswer and the price of that sale, and using said data in said pay-offformula calculation.
 4. The method of claim 1, said method alsocomprising the steps of registering a user's intent to buy an answer,said intent being in the form of a price offer for the answer, and usingsaid data in said pay-off formula calculation.
 5. The method of claim 1,said method also comprising the steps registering a user's intent to buyan answer, said intent being in the form of a price offer being in theform of a binding commitment for a certain period of time to buy saidanswer.
 6. The method of claim 1, said method also comprising the stepof enabling a user who inputs an answer to set the price of the answer.7. The method of claim 1, said method also comprising the steps ofregistering and displaying a user's intent to supply an answer thatcorresponds to the question the user has entered.
 8. The method of claim1, said method also comprising the steps of registering and displaying auser's commitment to supply an answer that corresponds to the questionthe user has entered.
 9. The method of claim 1, said method alsocomprising the steps of registering and displaying a user's intent tosupply an answer to a corresponding question, and assigning that userthe exclusive right to supply that answer for a period of time.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, said method also comprising the steps of registeringand displaying a user's intent to supply an answer to a correspondingquestion, and enabling that user to pay for the exclusive right tosupply that answer for a period of time.